It's a little light on the edge of a window.
Every year on December 8, according to a well-established tradition, Lyon lights up.
This is the signal that launches the famous Festival of Lights, which has been held for four days since 1989. This popular event is based on the day of the Immaculate Conception, which celebrates the birth of the Virgin Mary, who came into the world exempt. of original sin.
The candle is the symbol.
It is also that of Advent, Christmas and birthdays.
Its light is the one that creates a warm atmosphere, and warms the hearts of those who contemplate it.
But where does this candle come from?
How to explain its symbolism?
An arabic word
It all started in a town in Algeria.
In Bugāya precisely.
Because our word is of Arabic origin, it is after this city name that it was formed.
Bugāya was an Algerian city known for its wax exports, delivered all over the world.
This wax was intended for making candles, which rivaled the oil lamp in the Middle Ages.
Note that the French
"bougie"
is attested in French only late, at the very beginning of the fourteenth century, underlines the Treasury of the French language.
It was also at this time that it was invented, succeeding the candle, which had existed for 3000 years Jesus Christ!
Its appearance in French gave two heirs: the Spanish
bujía
and the Italian
bugía.
Promise of hope and peace
On December 8, the Lyonnais celebrate the Festival of Lights by lighting lanterns on the edge of their window.
They also commemorate the feast of the Immaculate Conception.
On that day, the mother of Christ was born a virgin of the weight of sin that all men carry with them.
The candle they light today is a sweet memory of it.
As Christmas approaches, the candle is everywhere.
You just have to take a look in the streets, the shops, the houses ... The illuminations (
"shine, light"
) are only a modern version of the candles that were once hung on the trees.
Tradition also has it that an Advent wreath is decorated with four candles, which symbolize the four weeks leading up to Christmas.
Why this use?
Its flame is the symbol of Christmas light, a promise of hope and peace for Christians.
Whenever a candle or a fire is lit, all eyes instinctively converge on its light.
It creates an attraction, a desire for contemplation.
"Light"
means
"clarity, day"
.
Its etymology explains this attraction exerted: the candle is the antithesis of darkness, which breeds fear.
This is why it is turned on on holidays.
