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Bayberry Candles

The history of the bayberry is an ancient one. Doctors in the early days used the melted berries as a salve. The natives soon found them good for making candles.

Bayberry wax is collected by boiling the berries. The waxy substance rises to the top of the water. This is skimmed off and made into candles. True bayberry candles like the early American colonists made are rare today as enormous quantities of bayberries are required to make a single candle. It is said that a burning bayberry candle brings “wealth & good luck”.

A Mrs. Baker used to make her candles of bayberries and her neighbors placed orders with her to make them some. She and her husband soon had so many orders that they converted their store into a candle factory.

The berries are thick around Truro. Their melted wax is of a curious green color that is almost transparent. The candles are never greasy to the touch nor do they melt in hot weather. The snuff gives off a delicious odor, and many people snuff them out just for the fragrance.

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