A few months ago, me and my friend Michelle were at Bed, Bath, and Bondage (Beyond). We were shopping for a few kitchen utilities. I stumbled upon a box of “Everlasting Tealight Candles” and immediately had to have them. These tealight candles are watch-battery operated and perfect for leaving unattended in the outdoors. Which makes them perfect for festival camping. There were 26 or so in the box and I had visions of lights making a festival campsite cozy and inviting and fun. Not to mention visible when stumbling back to camp after a fun night of dancing, burning and laughing.
We used them, not all of them, but we DID use them during Beltane festival last weekend. I put two on the makeshift dining table; two sat on the table Ember brought with her; I put two in our hotel motel; and I gave one or two to Ember for her tent. They gave off some light Friday and Saturday and all was good.
Kender decided to stay at camp Saturday night. He’s not into the big bonfires. So Ember, her friend, and I hung out with the community, our new Queen and King. We were warm by the fire and watched the antics and swapped stories. It was a good, mellow evening. Later on, I wandered back to our campsite and Kender had made a fire in our makeshift fire pit. Going into the tent, he also had taken some of these Everlasting Tealights and made a heart out of them. For me. They were sitting on my bedroll. It was perfect and very much a loving surprise.
We had to “put the lights out” before going to bed. Except, this one candle refused to go out. I clicked the switch and expected it to dim, but it refused. Clicked it again and still nothing. So, instead of ticking off the “everlasting tealight goddess” we decided to leave it on. A nightlight of sorts. I placed it on our altar table where it could “dance” the night away.
It was still burning when we packed it up with its sleeping brothers and sisters the next day.
It was still burning when I unpacked the box when we got home.
It still burns where I have it sitting on our kitchen counter. The light… refuses to go out. Today is Beltane proper. And when I left for work an hour ago, it was still glowing. I’ve decided that this little fake candle, this battery operated toy, is our Beltane Fire. The fire of our passion, of the seeds of ideas and hearth and community, that will grow throughout the year. The fire of the change in weather.
The package claims the candles “burn” for 120 hours, but I think it’s been longer than that by now.
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Happy Beltane everyone!