Homemade Havdalah: How to Make Your Own Havdalah Candle

Understanding the Havdalah Candle: Tradition and Symbolism

The Havdalah candle is unlike any ordinary candle. According to Jewish law and tradition, a Havdalah candle must have at least two wicks burning together, creating a torch-like flame with enough light to cast visible shadows on one’s fingernails. This multi-wick requirement is not merely practical but deeply symbolic — the braided or bundled wicks represent unity, the joining of different elements into one harmonious whole, much like the separation ceremony itself unites the sacred and the mundane in a moment of mindful acknowledgment.

The traditional Havdalah candle is braided, typically made from several individual tapers twisted together while still warm and pliable. This braiding technique creates a visually striking candle with an intertwined structure that mirrors the braided challah bread of Shabbat, drawing a visual thread between the beginning and end of the holy day. The candle is typically held by the youngest person present during the ceremony, and its flame is extinguished in the wine at the conclusion of Havdalah, symbolizing the end of the ceremony and the sweetness of the Sabbath being carried into the week ahead.

Beyond the halachic requirements, the Havdalah candle has inspired centuries of artistic and spiritual expression. Jewish communities around the world have developed their own candle-making traditions, incorporating local materials, colors, and techniques. Some communities favor brightly colored wax in deep blues, purples, and golds — colors associated with royalty and the sacred. Others prefer natural beeswax in its warm honey tone. Making your own candle allows you to participate in this living tradition, adding your own voice to a practice that stretches back through generations of Jewish homes and families.

Gathering Your Materials: What You Need to Get Started

Before you begin, it is important to assemble all your materials so the process flows smoothly. The most important material is the wax itself. Beeswax is the traditional and most popular choice for Havdalah candles, prized for its natural honey scent, beautiful warm color, and long, even burn. You can purchase beeswax sheets from craft stores, which make the process especially accessible for beginners since they do not require melting. Alternatively, paraffin wax or a soy-paraffin blend works well if you prefer to pour your candles rather than roll them.

You will need wicking material rated for the diameter of candle you intend to make. For braided Havdalah candles, pre-waxed cotton wicking in a medium to large size works best. You will need enough wick to create at least three individual tapers if you are braiding them together, with some extra length left at the top for lighting. If you are purchasing pre-made taper candles to braid together, you can skip the individual wicking step entirely, though making your own tapers from scratch gives you full control over the final result and is a meaningful part of the process.

Additional materials include a double boiler or a heat-safe bowl set over a pot of simmering water for melting wax, a candy or wax thermometer to monitor temperature, molds or a smooth flat surface for rolling, and dye chips or blocks in your desired colors. You may also want to gather essential oils or fragrance oils if you wish to add a scent beyond the natural aroma of beeswax. A workspace covered with newspaper or a silicone mat will protect your surfaces from drips and spills. Having everything laid out before you begin will make the entire experience more enjoyable and less stressful.

• Beeswax sheets or blocks (paraffin or soy wax are suitable alternatives)
• Pre-waxed cotton wicking in medium or large size
• Double boiler or heat-safe bowl and pot
• Candy or wax thermometer
• Candle dye chips in your preferred colors (blue, purple, gold, or white are traditional)
• Optional: essential oils such as frankincense, myrrh, or rose for fragrance
• Ruler, scissors, and a smooth flat work surface
• Newspaper, silicone mat, or parchment paper for protecting your workspace

The Rolling Method: Making a Braided Beeswax Havdalah Candle

The rolling method is the most beginner-friendly way to make a Havdalah candle and is particularly well-suited to beeswax sheets. Begin by gently warming your beeswax sheets with a hair dryer or by placing them briefly in a warm oven at its lowest setting, just until they become soft and pliable but not melted. This step is crucial — cold beeswax sheets will crack when you try to roll them, while properly warmed sheets will bend and adhere beautifully. Work quickly once the wax is warm, as it cools and stiffens again within a few minutes.

To form each individual taper, lay a piece of wicking along one short edge of a warmed beeswax sheet, leaving about half an inch of wick extending beyond the top edge for lighting. Carefully roll the sheet around the wick, pressing firmly as you roll to ensure good adhesion and a tight, even cylinder. Continue rolling until the entire sheet is used. If you want a thicker candle, you can warm a second sheet and continue rolling around the first. For a traditional Havdalah candle, you will want to make at least three individual tapers this way, though many people make four or five for a fuller braid.

Once your individual tapers are rolled and still warm, press their bases together firmly and begin twisting or braiding them around each other. If you are making a three-taper candle, a simple three-strand braid works beautifully. For four or more tapers, you can twist them together in a spiral or use a more elaborate braiding technique. Press the braided sections together gently as you work to ensure the wax bonds. When you reach the tops of the candles, spread the wicks apart slightly so they can all be lit simultaneously during the ceremony. Allow the finished candle to cool completely on a flat surface before handling.

The Pouring Method: Crafting Dipped or Molded Taper Candles

For those who want even more control over the final appearance and feel of their Havdalah candle, the pouring and dipping method offers wonderful creative possibilities. Begin by melting your chosen wax in a double boiler, monitoring the temperature carefully with your thermometer. Paraffin wax typically melts and pours well between 150 and 165 degrees Fahrenheit, while beeswax works best slightly higher, around 160 to 175 degrees. Add your dye chips slowly, stirring thoroughly until the color is uniform throughout the melted wax. If you are adding fragrance, stir in your essential or fragrance oil at the end, just before pouring, to preserve the scent.

For the dipping method, which creates beautifully tapered candles with a smooth, professional finish, suspend your lengths of wick from a dowel or pencil laid across the top of your melting pot. Dip each wick repeatedly into the melted wax, lifting it out and allowing it to cool for a minute or two between each dip. With each successive dip, the candle builds up layers of wax, gradually growing thicker and more substantial. This method requires patience — a well-built dipped taper typically requires twenty to thirty dips — but the resulting candle has a beautiful layered quality and burns exceptionally evenly.

Molded tapers offer yet another approach, producing candles with perfectly uniform shapes. Pour your melted wax into taper molds with wicks already centered and secured at both ends. Taper molds are available in metal, plastic, and silicone, with silicone being the easiest to unmold after cooling. Allow the wax to cool slowly at room temperature for several hours before attempting to remove the candles from their molds. Once unmolded, you will have smooth, professional-looking tapers ready to be braided together using the same technique described for the rolling method — gently warming the bases, pressing them together, and twisting or braiding the individual candles into a unified Havdalah torch.

1. Melt wax in a double boiler and monitor temperature carefully with a thermometer.
2. Add dye and stir until color is fully incorporated and uniform throughout the wax.
3. Add fragrance oils just before pouring or dipping to preserve scent integrity.
4. Dip or pour your individual tapers, allowing adequate cooling time between steps.
5. Once cooled, warm the bases and braid or twist the individual tapers together.
6. Allow the assembled Havdalah candle to cool fully before use or storage.

Personalizing Your Candle: Colors, Scents, and Creative Touches

One of the greatest joys of making your own Havdalah candle is the opportunity to personalize it in ways that reflect your family’s aesthetic, your community’s traditions, or your own spiritual sensibilities. Color choice is one of the most expressive decisions you will make. Deep royal blue and rich purple are classic Havdalah colors, evoking the transition from the darkness of Saturday night into the new week and calling to mind the royalty of the Shabbat queen departing. Gold and white suggest purity and light, while some families enjoy incorporating the colors of the Jewish holidays or seasons — warm oranges and reds in autumn, fresh greens in spring.

Layering colors within your braid creates a visually stunning effect. You might make each individual taper a different color so that when braided together, the finished candle displays a spiraling rainbow of hues. Alternatively, you could dip your tapers in multiple colors, building up layers from a base color to a contrasting outer shade, so that as the candle burns down through the ceremony, it reveals changing colors like strata of earth. Some candle makers swirl two colors together in the pouring stage to create a marbled effect that is simply breathtaking when the candle is lit and the flame dances through the translucent wax.

Scent is another deeply personal element to consider. While the Havdalah ceremony already incorporates a spice box — besamim — filled with cloves, cinnamon, or other fragrant spices to console the soul at the departure of the Sabbath, a subtly scented candle can add another dimension to the sensory experience. Light floral notes like rose or lavender are lovely for spring and summer ceremonies, while warm, resinous fragrances like frankincense, myrrh, or amber feel especially appropriate for the fall and winter months. Keep the scent subtle so it complements rather than overwhelms the spice box, and always use fragrance oils rated as skin-safe and non-toxic for any candle intended for ceremonial use.

Storing, Using, and Caring for Your Handmade Havdalah Candle

A handmade Havdalah candle, crafted with care and intention, deserves to be stored and used thoughtfully so that it burns beautifully and safely every week. Store your finished candle in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight, which can fade the colors and cause the wax to soften or warp over time. Wrapping the candle loosely in parchment or tissue paper will protect it from dust and minor scratches while still allowing it to breathe. Beeswax candles in particular benefit from a light buff with a soft cloth before use, which restores their natural luster and removes any surface blooming — the white, powdery film that sometimes develops on beeswax as it ages.

During the Havdalah ceremony itself, the candle is traditionally held aloft by a child, high enough that the flame is above eye level. It is important that whoever holds the candle does so steadily and safely, keeping it away from clothing, hair, and flammable materials. The candle is extinguished at the conclusion of the ceremony by dipping its flame into the wine remaining in the Kiddush cup, which produces a satisfying hiss and fills the air with the sweet smell of wine-doused wax. This extinguishing is rich with meaning — the Shabbat flame goes out not in a puff of breath but in sweetness, carrying the spirit of the holy day forward into the week.

Because a Havdalah candle is only burned for the brief duration of the ceremony — typically just a few minutes each week — a well-made handmade candle will last for many months or even years of weekly use. Over time, it will develop a beautiful patina of use, its surface marked by the history of many Saturday nights, many blessings recited, many new weeks begun. When at last your candle burns too low for safe use, you can melt it down and use the remaining wax as the foundation for your next Havdalah candle, keeping the continuity of the craft alive from one season to the next and weaving together the past and future in the same spirit of renewal that Havdalah itself embodies each and every week.