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Bees and candles have a long history in spiritual beliefs and customs beginning with the ancient Egyptians and continuing through today. Even the earliest religions used beeswax candles in their sacred ritual.
Ancient Egyptians believed that bees came from the tears of Ra, the Sun God; as the beeswax was considered sacred, candles made from it could only be used by their spiritual leaders. The ancient Greeks believed that bees were born spontaneously from animal corpses and therefore symbolized resurrection and rebirth. Bees were revered as holy messengers that carried prayers to the Gods. In return, honey or beeswax was valued as a gift from the Gods. The Romans also revered bees. In Medieval times beeswax could be used for taxes or trade.
Napoleon used embroidered golden bees on his coronation robes, to link the new dynasty to the very origins of France, bee emblems were discovered in the tomb of an early Kings of France in 467, In London, the Worshipful Company of Wax Chandlers, was established as the world’s oldest English Guild.
In the Chinese teaching of Feng Shui, beeswax candles bring fire chi energy into a room, which is thought to encourage passion and expressiveness. In Hebrew the word for bee, Dbure, has its origins in the word Dbr, speech and thus bees symbolized eloquence and intelligence among early Jewish believers. The Torah states, "The spirit of man is the candle of the Lord."
More recently, in Christian tradition, honeycomb symbolized the monastery cells where monks lived and worked. Bees often were a symbol of Christ, with the honey and sting of the bee representing his mercy and justice. A popular legend states that bees hummed on Christmas Eve to honour Jesus at his birth
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