Many of you ask us questions about 9 days candles: what is a novena? How to make a novena? What's the point? When to turn it on? Which 9 days candle to choose? Let us explain.
The 9 days candle is a very old tradition and still very much practiced in the Church today.
This is a period of nine consecutive days during which we systematically address Heaven in order to reiterate the same request, a wish, a grace. It is a spiritual period, a privileged time of dialogue with God.
Prayer can be about any aspect of our life, anything that is important to us. We can make a novena to ask for the healing of a loved one, to ask for help in the event of a death, assistance in family problems or even to find a job.
The 9 days candle represents this permanent state of prayer. It is lit when this nine-day period begins. The novena candle burns for nine days in a row and accompanies your prayers. It cannot be turned off. We recommend that you use a novena booklet; it is a small leaflet which guides you during these nine days of prayer. Each day, you recite in front of the candle the prayer which is in the small notebook.
There is a very wide range of plastic novena candles. Our range bears the name of Novena. More recently we have introduced 9 days candles in glass. You can find more information on this ecological alternative by clicking here. This is a personal choice, a glass candle being much more ecological. It is obvious that the type of candle chosen does not influence your prayer in any way. In glass or plastic, the important thing is the prayer itself.
Novena candles are made from 100% vegetable oils. It is possible to buy them without an image but generally, we choose our novena according to the Saint that we wish to pray. For example, we will burn a candle of Saint Rita for desperate causes, a candle in Saint Peregrine for cancer patients, etc.
You can also choose the color of the novena candle. In reality, it is the outer plastic that can be colored because the candle itself is always white. There are pink, red, blue, green, purple, yellow novenas, ..
The candle can be placed in a chapel, a church or simply in your home.
We will end with a tip, put your candle in a safe place, far from any flammable object, for example in a sink.