When the dark days are at their darkest and the runways for Santa Claus and his reindeer shine like small airports in the front gardens, then the time has come to think about candles. And candlesticks. Whether you need more lanterns on the terrace. Or finally church candelabra for the pompous goose meal. Or something cool, like shining crystal lumps that you casually toss on the bare table and that look like sparkling snowballs. And even if some people don't really care about candlesticks: During the Christmas season, traditionalists, trendsetters and sustainable people come into their own when discussing new acquisitions in the home decoration department. Tea lights with zebra or leopard prints are opened against the red-green tartan romance,sustainable wickerwork is juxtaposed with empty glitter.
Whether made of beeswax, paraffin or stearin - candles in their holders are some of the oldest objects in human dwellings.
Because before there was electric light, let alone smart homes, in which the residents stepped into the light with the announcement “Hey Siri, light on!”, Oil lamps, burning scraps of sebum and torches were essential for survival.
Beeswax candles were - as they are today - an expensive luxury and only adorned aristocratic tables and altars in churches in silver candelabras.
Candlesticks in baroque shapes have long been a somewhat boring standard gift on classic wedding lists, which decades later ended up as a dented heirloom with the godchildren.
"Deer and deer made of bisque are totally in"
And today? The Berlin florist Björn Kroner-Salié, who runs a Christmas pop-up store in the Heckmann-Höfe during Advent, sees a few classic candlesticks this winter, but many “conversation pieces” in animal shapes: “Deer, deer and pigs Biscuit porcelain with candlesticks on the head or back are totally in right now, ”he reports. "It's amazing, because with candles on their heads, the porcelain figures that our grandmothers put on the shelves change and are totally funny."
The “Graf von Candle” series from the Reichenbach porcelain company offers such eye-catchers, but other manufacturers also use the animal theme. In addition to a return of the local fauna to the table, the chinoiserie tradition of the 18th century is still having an effect: Candlesticks with granite bases and monkeys made of brass or exotic birds are grouped together to form a “center de table”. In addition to the eccentric animal invasion on the tables, Björn Kroner-Salié sees the second trend in minimalist Nordic design: Scandinavian simplicity with candlesticks in organic shapes. The best example of this is the Finnish company Ittalla, which has been producing thick-walled, colored candle glasses for decades, with which you always play it safe at the table in terms of style as you would with the little black dress on Christmas Eve.