Editing Torch

{{Short description|Stick with a flaming end used as a source of light}}
{{For-multi|electric torches|Flashlight|other uses}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2018}}
[[File:Lewes Bonfire, discarded torch.jpg|thumb|right|A burning torch, discarded on the road in the wake of the [[Lewes Bonfire Night]] celebrations.]]

A '''torch''' is a stick with [[Combustibility and flammability|combustible]] material at one end which can be used as a [[Light|light source]] or to set something on [[fire]].<ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/torch|title = merriam-webster.com| date=27 August 2023 }}</ref> Torches have been used throughout history, and are still used in [[Procession|processions]], symbolic and religious events, and in [[juggling]] entertainment. In some countries, notably the [[United Kingdom]] and [[Australia]], "torch" in modern usage is also the term for a [[flashlight|battery-operated portable light]]. 

==Etymology==
From the [[Old French]] "''torche''" meaning "twisted thing", hence "torch formed of twisted [[Tow (fibre)|tow]] dipped in wax", probably from Vulgar Latin *''torca'', alteration of Late Latin ''torqua'', variant of classical Latin ''torques'' "collar of twisted metal", from ''torquere'' "to twist".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.etymonline.com/word/torch |title=Torch|work=Etymology |access-date=27 February 2018}}</ref>

[[File:Firebreathingtorch.JPG|thumb|right|An unlit torch as used for [[Fire breathing (circus act)|fire breathing]].]]

==Torch construction==
Torch construction has varied through history depending on the torch's purpose. Torches were usually constructed of a wooden stave with one end wrapped in a material which was soaked in a flammable substance.<ref name="History">{{cite web |title=History of Torches |url=http://www.historyoflighting.net/lighting-history/history-of-torches/ |website=History of Lighting |access-date=13 February 2021}}</ref> In the United States, black bear bones may have been used.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Pressley |first1=Benjamin |title=Conquering The Darkness: Primitive Lighting Methods |journal=Bulletin of Primitive Technology |date=1996 |issue=12 |url=http://www.hollowtop.com/spt_html/lighting.htm |access-date=13 February 2021}}</ref> Modern procession torches are made from coarse [[hessian (cloth)|hessian]] rolled into a tube and soaked in wax. A wooden handle is usually used, and a cardboard collar is attached to deflect any wax droplets. They are an easy, safe and relatively cheap way to hold a flame aloft in a parade or to provide illumination in any after-dark celebration.

Modern torches suitable for juggling are made of a wooden-and-metal or metal-only stave with one end wrapped in a Kevlar wick. This wick is soaked in a flammable liquid, usually paraffin ([[kerosene]]).

==Symbolism==
[[File:Liberty torch drawing.svg|55px|right]]
The torch is a common [[emblem]] of both [[Age of Enlightenment|enlightenment]] and [[hope]],<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WvcxCgAAQBAJ&q=torch+is+symbol+of+hope+and+enlightenment&pg=PA72 |title=Studying Transcultural Literary History |last=Lindberg-Wada |first=Gunilla |date=2006-01-01|publisher=Walter de Gruyter |isbn=9783110920550|language=en}}</ref> thus the [[Statue of Liberty]], formally named ''Liberty Enlightening the World'', lifts her torch. Crossed reversed torches were signs of [[mourning]] that appear on Greek and Roman funerary monuments—a torch pointed downwards symbolizes [[death]], while a torch held up symbolizes life, truth and the regenerative power of flame. The torch is also a symbol used by political parties, for instance by both [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]] (from 1918 to 1980) and the [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservatives]] (from 1983 to 2006) in the UK, and by the [[Malta Labour Party]]. In the seals of schools in the [[Philippines]], the torch symbolizes the vision of education to provide enlightenment to all the students.

The torch is also associated with the Greek goddess of [[witchcraft]] known as [[Hecate]] in some works of art.<ref>{{cite book|author=Oskar Seyffert|title=A Dictionary of Classical Antiquities: Mythology, Religion, Literature and Art|url=https://archive.org/details/b3135841x/page/270/mode/2up?view=theater|publisher=[[William Swan Sonnenschein|Swan Sonnenschein and Co]]|edition=6|date=1901|page=271|access-date=2022-01-01}}</ref>

<gallery>
File:Main Reading Room. Detail of frieze of winged half figures with torch of learning. Library of Congress Thomas Jefferson Building, Washington, D.C. LCCN2007684396.tif|Detail of frieze of winged half figures with torch of learning in the [[Library of Congress]] [[Thomas Jefferson Building]], Washington, D.C.
File:Liberty Island Jul 2019 27.jpg|The original 1886–1984 torch of the [[Statue of Liberty]] (''Liberty Enlightening the World'') is housed in the [[Statue of Liberty Museum]] on [[Liberty Island]], New York City
Image:Sculpture pont de l'alma Paris FRA.jpg|''[[Flame of Liberty]]'', [[Place Diana]], Paris
File:Hécate - Mallarmé.png|The goddess Hecate holding a torch to her right
</gallery>

==Uses==
===Olympics===
[[File:Li Ling during 2008 Summer Olympics opening ceremony.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Li Ning]] lighting the [[Olympic flame]] at the 2008 Summer Olympics.]]
The torch carried in relay by runners is used to light the [[Olympic flame]] which burns without interruption until the end of the Games. These torches and the relay tradition were introduced in the [[1936 Summer Olympics]] by [[Carl Diem]], the chairman of the event because during the duration of the [[Ancient Olympic Games]] in [[Olympia, Greece|Olympia]], a sacred flame burnt inside of the temple of Hera, kept in custody by her priestess.

===Juggling===
[[Torch (juggling)|Juggling torches]] are often used as a prop in [[toss juggling]]: they can be flipped into the air in an end-over-end motion while being juggled, in the same manner as [[juggling club]]s or [[Knife juggling|juggling knives]], but because of their sound and 'trail of flame', they can appear much more impressive to audiences.  To a skilled juggler, there is only a slight chance of being burned, but they are still dangerous.

===In Roman Catholic liturgy===
In former times, liturgical torches were carried in Eucharistic processions simply to give light. The Church eventually adopted their use for Solemn High Masses.

According to Adrian Fortescue,<ref>"The Mass: A Study of the Roman Liturgy [1912]"</ref> the more correct form of liturgical torches are non-freestanding (i.e. cannot stand up on their own). However, today, even in the Vatican, freestanding, tall candles in ornate candle-stick holders have replaced the former type. The torches are carried by torchbearers, who enter at the Sanctus and leave after Communion.

[[Anglican]]s of the [[High Church]] and some [[Lutheran]]s use torches in some of their liturgical celebrations as well.

===Torchlight march===

Torchlight march is a type of [[illuminated procession]] which is held after dark so that torches carried by the participants form a spectacle (other types of an illuminated procession involve candles, lanterns etc).<ref>{{cite web|title=Torch Light |url=https://www.amazon.com/J5-Tactical-V1-Pro-Flashlight-Original/dp/B00V7T1YRQ|access-date=7 June 2013|author=Beverly N. White|website=Amazon }}</ref>

[[File:George Rennie Cupid Rekindling the Torch of Hymen at the V and A 2008.jpg|thumb|upright|''Cupid Rekindling the Torch of Hymen'' by [[George Rennie (sculptor)|George Rennie]]]]

=== Underwater diving ===
[[Magnesium torch]]es were used commonly in the 1950s and 1960s as a means of underwater illumination. Magnesium burns with a bright white light, and burns underwater also.

==Associations==
===Love===
The association of a torch with love may date to the Greek and Roman tradition of a wedding torch,<ref>[http://www.phrases.org.uk/bulletin_board/20/messages/1200.html Re: To "hold a candle" for someone] – [http://www.phrases.org.uk/ The Phrase Finder]</ref>
lit in the bride's [[hearth]] on her wedding night, then used to light the hearth in her new home. Such a torch is associated with the Greek god of marriage [[Hymen (god)|Hymen]].

The idiom '''''to carry a torch''''' (for someone) means to [[love]] or to be [[romance (love)|romantically]] [[Limerence|infatuate]]d with someone, especially when such feelings are not [[reciprocity (social psychology)|reciprocate]]d. It is often used to characterize a situation in which a romantic relationship has ended, but where one partner still loves the other. It is considered by some to be dated,<ref>{{cite web| url = http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=1361005| title = WordReference Forums – carry a torch for someone| date = 17 April 2009}}</ref> but still in wide usage. A [[torch song]] is typically a sentimental love song in which a singer laments an unrequited love.

== Gallery ==
<gallery>
Image:Tikitorch.JPG|A [[tiki torch]]
Image:43-aspetti di vita quotidiana, illuminazione,Taccuino Sanita.jpg|Torch seller, [[tacuinum sanitatis]] casanatensis (14th century)
Image:18th November Torchlight procession 2013.jpg|18 November Torchlight procession 2013 in Riga, Latvia
Image:Lewes Bonfire, Lewes Borough Bonfire Society.jpg|[[Guy Fawkes Night|Bonfire Night]] celebrations in [[Lewes]], [[Sussex]] on 5 November
File:Hartola.vaakuna.svg|Two torches in the coat of arms of [[Hartola, Finland|Hartola]]
File:Flag of Zaire (1971–1997).svg| A torch on the [[Flag of the Democratic Republic of the Congo|Flag of Zaire]], 1971–1997
</gallery>

==See also==
* [[Blowtorch]]
* [[Cresset]]
* [[List of light sources]]
* [[Sconce (light fixture)]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Wiktionary|carry a torch for}}
{{Wiktionary|torch}}
{{Commons|Torch}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070311011353/http://www.maternalheart.org/pictures/6-2004-CorpusChristiProc-FirstMass/54-Procession-3-sc.jpg Picture of non-freestanding torches] Antique Liturgical Torches in Procession
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070213024613/http://jeff.ostrowski.cc/productions/torch/final/yy4.jpg Picture of non-freestanding torches] Antique Liturgical Torches in Procession

{{Artificial light sources}}
{{Firelighting}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Ceremonial flames]]
[[Category:Fire]]
[[Category:Lighting]]
[[Category:Signalling lights]]
[[Category:Torches| ]]
[[Category:Shinto religious objects]]