page_title: History of candle making
section_title: Decline of the candle industry
hierarchical_section_title: History of candle making / Modern era / Decline of the candle industry
caption_attribution_description: Candles spelling "Happy Birthday"
context_page_description: Candle making was developed independently in many places throughout history.
  Candles were made by the Romans beginning about 500 BCE. These were true dipped candles and made from tallow. Evidence for candles made from whale fat in China dates back to the Qin Dynasty. In India, wax from boiling cinnamon was used for temple candles.
  In parts of Europe, the Middle-East and Africa, where lamp oil made from olives was readily available, candle making remained unknown until the early middle-ages. Candles were primarily made from tallow and beeswax in ancient times, but have been made from spermaceti, purified animal fats and paraffin wax in recent centuries.
context_section_description: Despite advances in candle making, the candle industry declined rapidly upon the introduction of superior methods of lighting, including kerosene and lamps and the 1879 invention of the incandescent light bulb and in the 2000's with faux candles and lanterns using LEDs.
  From this point on, candles came to be marketed as more of a decorative item. Candles became available in a broad array of sizes, shapes and colors, and consumer interest in scented candles began to grow. During the 1990s, new types of candle waxes were being developed due to an unusually high demand for candles. Paraffin, a by-product of oil, was quickly replaced by new waxes and wax blends due to rising costs.
  Candle manufacturers looked at waxes such as soy, palm and flax-seed oil, often blending them with paraffin in hopes of getting the performance of paraffin with the price benefits of the other waxes. The creation of unique wax blends, now requiring different fragrance chemistries and loads, placed pressure for innovation on the candle wick manufacturing industry to meet performance needs with the often tougher to burn formulations.
caption: Candles here are used to celebrate a birthday
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