When we want to do something nice for a loved one, we give him gifts. To express our love and gratitude to the Creator, people in ancient times used to bring Him a part of what, by the grace of God, they happened to own. Thus, children of Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, sacrificed to God a portion of what they worked on. The farmer Cain brought the fruits that he grew. Shepherd Abel – the animals he grazed. In the Old Testament, people most often sacrificed animals and birds to God. And these bloody sacrifices reminded the world of the future Great Sacrifice – of Christ, Who was to shed His Most Pure Blood for human sins. After Christ suffered on the Cross, instead of animals, people bring bloodless sacrifices to the church – lamp oil and candles
In the first centuries of Christianity, the use of lamps was caused by necessity. For the fear of being attacked by persecutors, Divine service was performed mostly at night or in the catacombs, where the light of the sun did not reach even during the day. However, the use of lamps even then was no longer considered only a matter of necessity, but also had a symbolic meaning. From the earliest times of Christianity, lamps were used not only during evening and night services, but also during daytime services, as can be seen from the testimony of Paulinus, Bishop of Nolan (4th – early 5th centuries). In response to the reproach of the heretic Vigilantius against Christians for burning a whole mass of candles in churches during the day, Blessed Jerome said that Christians in this case are not acting senselessly: they use lamps during worship, especially when reading the Gospel, as a symbol of spiritual joy. In addition, the light of the lamps serves for us as a symbol of the great Light of the world – Jesus Christ, and should remind us that for the sake of liberating us from the power of darkness, He gave Himself up to death and by this self-sacrifice led the human being into the realm of light, and we, therefore, became followers of the religion of Light. Further, this light reminds us to stand firmly in the faith in Christ, to be faithful disciples of the Light and to strive to ensure that our lives are pure and bright. Let our light so shine before people, that they may see our good deeds and glorify our Heavenly Father (Matthew 5:16).
The light from the burning of a wax candle has a particular importance. Wax melting from fire is a symbol of a believing soul, which is softened by the grace of prayer. Just as fire makes wax melt, so the grace of God and prayers should melt the hardness of our hearts, make them soft wax, on which the hand of the Lord could inscribe His will.
