What do candles in windows mean?

Placing a light in a window during the Christmas season is a centuries-old tradition that flows from using candles to remember the grace of God, the coming of Christ, and the importance of extending goodwill to all.

The tradition is prominent in America’s northeast today but likely originated in Ireland in the seventeenth century, 

The origin of putting a lit candle in a window

During the late seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the British government imposed particularly harsh laws designed to target and oppress members of the Catholic Church. The severity of the oppression had not been seen since the Roman Empire persecuted the early New Testament Church. The newer Church of England fought tenaciously for complete control of the land.

During the rollout of what became known as Penal Laws, British officials ordered Catholic priests to leave the country—many refused and went into hiding. During the Christmas season, Irish Catholics put candles in windows and left doors to their homes unlocked as a way to invite priests to enter their homes to say Mass. 

Reportedly, when British officials questioned Irish citizens about the candles in their windows, they replied it was a way to welcome Joseph, Mary, and baby Jesus. When the long season of oppression eased, the tradition broadened to become an invitation for weary passersby to stop for food and shelter.

In some parts of old Europe, Catholics placed lit candles in their windows, hoping a saint would pass by and bless their home.

The tradition of placing lit candles in windows in colonial America 

Eighteenth and nineteenth-century immigrants to America brought the tradition with them. In colonial America, placing a candle in a window came to indicate a place of refuge and safety. 

And at a time when homes were far apart, and it was easy to be caught out in poor weather or to become injured and need assistance, a light in the window was a signal that care and compassion were not far away. 

Later, placing a candle in a window became associated with a family who was away—perhaps at war or away at sea. Families lit candles in their honor—to keep their memory alive and to symbolically help them find their way home.

Placing a lit candle in the window was also associated with new birth. Families who celebrated the birth of a child would often put a lit candle in the window to help announce the happy news.

The tradition today 

Many aspects of old traditions survive to this day. Some place a lit candle in a window as a symbol of hope. For some, it is a statement of faith; for others, it signals the willingness to show hospitality and provide assistance to those in need.   

Nineteenth-century American pioneer, missionary, and pastor Robert Alden said, “There is not enough darkness in all the world to put out the light of even one small candle.” It is this thought that keeps alive the practice of lighting candles in homes and placing them in windows.

Lighting candles communicate the warmth of home and family. They invoke fond memories, are associated with happy celebrations, and impart hope and peace.