Craft a Papier Mâché Chrismon Candle

      The flame of the Paschal candle symbolizes risen Christ as light of the world and his presence in the midst of his people. The Paschal candle is sometimes referred to as the "Easter candle" or the "Christ candle." The term "Paschal" comes from the word Pesach, which in Hebrew means Passover, and relates to the Paschal mystery of salvation. The tall white candle in many ways signifies the Divine pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night that lead the Israelites in their Exodus from slavery in Egypt.

      Chrismon candles vary widely in appearance but the meaning attached to these symbols is exactly the same as those attached to Paschal candles. During Christmas services, candles are often lit as the scripture from John 8:12 is read aloud:

When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."

 

      Above, you can see the paper mache candle form a crafted both before and after the final finishes were applied. The candle itself was made from a hollow cardboard tube that was attached to a paper mache candle holder. I then added a simple flame shape to the top of the tube and a bit of air-dry clay to imitate wax and a flame. After covering the candle holder with glue and gold metallic paper, I glued a clothes pin to the bottom of the Chrismon ornament so that it could be easily clamped onto tree branches. The candle itself was painted with glossy gold nail polish to give it a waxy appearance and the flame was painted with acrylic yellows, orange and white paints. For this Chrismon ornament craft you will need the following supplies:

•  A light weight cardboard tube
• masking tape
• white glue
• gold nail polish
• white paper and gold foil paper
• aluminum foil
• orange and yellow acrylic paints
• scissors
• a cloths pin

In order to shape the fancy candle holder, I pressed tin foil into an old
 tart mold and then covered the entire surface with masking tape.
This last step is important because most any material can be glued
successfully to masking tape. After all of these processes where done,
I glued the cardboard candle inside the candle holder.

"Go Light Your World" by Kathy Troccoli