Editing Candlestick

{{Short description|Device used to hold a candle in place}}
{{Other uses}}
[[File:Candlestick (one of a set of eight) MET DP-13265-131.jpg|thumb|250x250px|British [[Neoclassicism|Neoclassical]] candlestick, 1774-1775, silver, overall: 29.5 × 15.6 × 15.6 cm; [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]] (New York City)]]
A '''candlestick''' is a device used to hold a [[candle]] in place. Candlesticks have a cup or a spike ("pricket") or both to keep the candle in place. Candlesticks are sometimes called "candleholders".

Before the proliferation of electricity, candles were carried between rooms using a '''chamberstick''', a short candlestick with a pan to catch dripping wax.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Snowdon|first=Louise|date=August 10, 2017|title=What is a Chamberstick?|url=https://www.acsilver.co.uk/acsnews/2017/08/10/chamberstick-definition/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170818064104/http://www.acsilver.co.uk:80/acsnews/2017/08/10/chamberstick-definition/ |archive-date=2017-08-18 |access-date=|website=AC Silver}}</ref>

Although electric lighting has phased out candles in much of the world, candlesticks and [[candelabra]]s are still used in homes as decorative elements or to add atmosphere on special occasions.

== Religious use ==
{{Main|Altar candle}}{{See also|Ceremonial use of lights}}
[[File:Gloucester candlestick.jpg|thumb|[[Gloucester Candlestick]]]]
Candles and candlesticks are also used frequently in religious rituals and for spiritual means as both functional and symbolic lights.

In [[Jewish]] homes, two candles are lit to mark the beginning of the [[Shabbat|Sabbath]] at sundown every Friday, hence, candlesticks are often on display. A seven-branched [[candelabra]], known as the [[Menorah (Temple)|menorah]], is the national symbol of the [[State of Israel]], based on the candelabra that was used in the [[Temple in Jerusalem]] in ancient times. Another special candelabra found in many Jewish homes is the [[Hanukiah]], the [[Hanukkah]] [[Menorah (Hanukkah)|menorah]] that holds eight candles plus an extra one for lighting the others.

Tall candlesticks and altar lamps are often found in [[Church (building)|Christian churches]] as well.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01350a.htm|title=''Catholic Encyclopedia'': Altar Candlesticks|access-date=14 October 2014}}</ref>

A special set of two- and three-branched candelabras called the [[dikirion and trikirion]] is used by [[Eastern Catholic Churches|Eastern Catholic]] and [[Eastern Orthodox]] bishops to bless people at worship services.

A [[Triple candlestick (Catholic Church)|triple candlestick]] was used before 1955 in the [[Catholic Church]].

== See also ==
* [[Bobèche]]
* [[Gloucester Candlestick]]
* [[Hogscraper candlestick]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
{{EB1911 poster|Candlestick}}
* {{Commons category-inline|Candlesticks}}
*[https://collection.cooperhewitt.org/types/35237609/ Candlesticks at the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum]
*[https://exchange.umma.umich.edu/advanced_search/query?type=3&title=&keywords=&min_rating=0&max_rating=5&style=+&collection_area=+&medium=&support=&classification=candlestick&artist=&artist_nationality=+&credit_line=&collection_identifier=&date_created=&location=+&author_lookup=&author_id=0 Candlesticks at the University of Michigan Museum of Art]
*[https://www.artsbma.org/object_name/candlesticks/ Candlesticks at the Birmingham Museum of Art]
*[https://www.dia.org/art/collection?keys=candlesticks Candlesticks at the Detroit Institute of Arts]

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Candles]]
[[Category:Lighting]]
[[Category:Holders]]