You need a cross, the year, the symbols for the beginning and the end – and the Easter candle is lit on Easter vigil. A company in Cologne makes them and decorates them by hand. One is even 1.30 meters high.
Lisa Wieland almost always begins with the end. The trained wax maker carefully takes the red wax plate in the shape of an omega and presses it lightly onto the lower quarter of the candle. Omega is the 24th and last letter in the Greek alphabet. It symbolizes the end. Hundreds of these symbols pass the hand of the young woman at the Joh. Schlösser candle factory in Cologne.
Just no twists and turns
When the Omega has found its place, Wieland will take care of the cross. Layer by layer, from bottom to top, this creates the decoration of the Easter candle. Only when the cross sticks to its wax surface does the alpha, the first letter of the Greek alphabet and consequently the symbol for the beginning, and the year follow. 2021 should be on the candle. “You always have to be a little careful,” says Wieland and laughs. “Not that a number flips over and the candle is suddenly for 2012.”
The wax artist can decorate a maximum of twenty candles per day. In total, the 20 employees at the candle factory produce more than 1,000 of the large Easter candles that are lit on Easter vigil in churches from Cologne to Düsseldorf to Ratingen. Four decorators alone are responsible for ensuring that the Christian symbolism adheres to the white wax background.
Founded in 1764
One of the largest candles goes to Cologne Cathedral. It is 1.30 meters high and has a diameter of twelve centimeters. It takes around a week for the approximately ten kilogram model to go through all the production steps, says Sebastian Zimmermann. He is the ninth generation to work in the wax bleaching and candle factory that he runs with his parents. The company can trace its history back to its founding in 1764.
A candle of the height and size ordered by the cathedral is the largest possible example that can be produced in the company’s own production hall in Cologne’s industrial area in Marsdorf. It’s warm in there and smells of wax. Zimmermann estimates that around 200 tons of the material are converted into candles here every year. Among them are those for baptisms, weddings, first communions, for restaurants and companies – and lots of sacrificial lights.
The company is feeling the effects of the corona pandemic on them in particular. What is currently missing are believers and tourists who light a light in the churches. Usually they delivered three pallets of sacrificial lights a week to Cologne Cathedral, says Birgit Zimmermann. They have only started the trip twice since the beginning of the year. The production of the Easter candles, however, is in full swing.
Like annual rings on a tree
At the moment, the employees are working in piece, says Sebastian Zimmermann. “Easter is relatively early this year, which takes three weeks of preparation time.” They couldn’t do without weekend shifts at the moment. Because every single Easter candle is not only hand-decorated, it is also completely produced beforehand.
The fact that her candles are still drawn and not pressed can be seen from the rings that wrap around the wick – like annual rings on a tree, explains Birgit Zimmermann. The candle grows with each layer of hot wax it is pulled through. Then it is brought to the right size and smoothed with the help of hot metal rings. Only at the very end is the drill hole for the mandrel on which the candle will later be made. So that everything fits on site, the company has the exact data for each candlestick to which the hole in the Easter candle is adapted.
Alpha, Omega and year
In the vast majority of cases, it fits. For the Easter days, the company still offers an emergency service, explains Sebastian Zimmermann. In the event of a candle emergency, he and his father sometimes drive across the delivery area – always a few classic Easter candles in the trunk: a red and gold, no-frills cross in the middle, framed by alpha, omega and year.
The candle that Lisa Wieland is currently working on is adorned with a motif that was developed this year. The Easter lamb is emblazoned in the middle. At the very end, the wax artist drills five small holes into which the wax nails are hammered as symbols for the wounds of Christ during the celebration of Easter Vigil. Then she puts the end product aside, takes out another order form and looks for all those wax sheets on the long shelf that she has to cut, arrange and stick on for the next candle.
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