General Information About Item:

• Customary Lore, yearly service
• Language: English
• Country of Origin: United States
• Informant: R.H. Age 19
• Date Collected: 11-07-2021

Informant Data:

• R.H. is a sophomore and Western Connecticut State University and is studying literature and education. She is a devout christian who volunteers at the church and is also an avid advocate for immigrant rights and equality.

Contextual Data:

• Cultural Context: Candlelight services are generally intended to be a means for groups of people, large or small, to quietly reflect, pray together, or simply show support for one another. On Christmas Eve, it has a more positive connotation of spirit and hope.
• Social Context: This practice was brought up when asked about notable traditions or events she has during Christmas time. Though hosted in a religious context, many community members, religiously affiliated or not, attend just to have a sense of community and light a candle symbolizing brighter times.

Item:

• Christmas Eve candlelight services have been a cherished tradition for churches around the world for many years and it’s believed the tradition of candlelight services itself traces back to Europe in the 1600s. Christians host this ceremony hoping that it will offer a meaningful way to symbolize the light of Christ coming into the darkness in the world. The wreath with the Christ candle in the center emulates “the light of Christ” which is then taken to light everyone’s candle and the reflected light into the faces of the people is meant to symbolize the light of Christ reflected in believers.

Transcript:

• “There is a candle lighting event that my church does every Christmas Eve. It’s open to the whole community but basically everyone gets a candle that they light in church and it’s just a time of prayer and singing Christmas hymns. That’s like the main thing that’s considered a ‘gathering’.The candle represents the light which is Jesus, prayer, hope, and faith.”

Informant’s Comments:

• “The candlelight illuminating inside the church is just so warm and comforting, I always get the exact feeling intended by the ceremony. Although the fire inside does scare me sometimes.”

Collector’s Comments:

• Though the rest of America has gradually filtered religious intentions out of Christmas tradition, within the church, they still hold strong belief and faith. However, I believe it is especially interesting in this case that the interviewee noted the attendance of non believers, which furthers the overarching theme using a time of darkness and flipping it to celebrate togetherness.

Collected By:

Dylan Lawler

Dover Plains, NY

Hanover, NH

Dartmouth College

RUSS013

Fall 2021