The Legend of the Bayberry Candle

One of my favorite things about the holidays is the variety of traditions carried from one generation to the next. Whether it is something as universally recognized as hanging Christmas stockings or eating pork and sauerkraut on New Year's Day for good luck or something more family specific like wearing certain socks on Christmas Day or banging on pots and pans at midnight on New Year's Eve to scare away bad luck and evil spirits, we all have something that we do at this time of year because it is tradition. In many cases the origin of these traditions has faded into obscurity leaving the action to stand on its own as reminder of times gone by.

At New Year's Eve for as long as I can remember my family has burned a bayberry candle for good luck in the new year. To this day the spicy and woodsy scent of bayberry makes me think of being home for the holidays. As a kid I never wondered where the tradition came from and just took it for granted that this was what everyone did on New Year's Eve. It wasn't until I went away to college that I realized that the traditions I grew up with weren't necessarily universal and became curious about their origins.

 

For the early American settlers every moment was one of survival. Everything was in short supply, including candles. In a time before electricity and the convenience of light at the flip of a switch this was an understandable inconvenience once the sun set. At that time most candles were made of tallow and as a result they had a tendency to smoke and give off an odor, particularly if the weather was warm and they turned rancid. The discovery that the berries of the abundant bayberry bush could be boiled to produce a waxy residue which could in turn be made into candles which not only burned longer and cleaner than tallow but with a pleasant smell as well was a blessing to the settlers. Unfortunately, it takes about 15 pounds of bayberries to make just a single pound of wax so the colonists tended to save their bayberry candles for special occasions.

To have a bayberry candle was a luxury to be saved and relished. It wasn't long before it became the tradition to bring out the bayberry candle on Christmas or New Year's Eve and burn it to bring blessings of abundance in the coming year. The source of the poem that is usually included with these candles has been lost though its sentiment rings as true today as it did in days past.

Have a safe and happy New Year!