The lighting of candles and lamps is one of the most universal of religious acts, found across nearly every tradition as a way of marking sacred time, honouring the divine, remembering the dead and embodying prayer in a visible flame. Light is a near-universal symbol of the divine presence, of life, of hope and of the soul, and to kindle a flame in a religious setting is to enact that symbolism: the small light set against the dark stands for the presence of God, the offering of the worshipper, or the memory of one who has died. The lit flame, which continues to burn after the worshipper has gone, gives prayer a lasting and visible form.
The practice takes distinctive shape in each tradition. In Judaism the kindling of lights ushers in the Sabbath and the festivals, and the eight-day lighting of the menorah is the heart of Hanukkah; a memorial candle burns for the dead. In Christianity, candles burn on the altar, before icons and shrines, and are lit by worshippers as votive offerings accompanying a prayer or petition, while the Paschal candle proclaims the risen Christ as the light of the world. In Hinduism the lamp of the arati rite is circled before the deity, and the festival of Diwali fills homes and streets with rows of lights. In Buddhism lamps are offered before images of the Buddha as a symbol of the light of wisdom dispelling ignorance. Across these varied settings the simple act of kindling a flame recurs as a gesture in which light, prayer, memory and the presence of the sacred are brought together.