The object I have chosen to discuss is a white beehive tealight candle that I have owned for nearly a year. I bought the candle as a souvenir at the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx. I thought it would make a pleasant display piece in my room, reminding me of the great time I had that day. 

The candle is a product of Rite Lite Ltd., which has been a leading manufacturer of occasion-based Jewish gifts, decorations, and more since 1949. Many of their white honeycomb beeswax candles are used for Shabbat and Jewish holiday celebrations. They are all allergy-free, petroleum-free, and biodegradable. The New York Botanical Garden Shop is a retailer of their products and includes their pure natural beeswax candles. By checking their website recently, I’ve noticed that they no longer sell this particular candle anymore. 

Frontal View of the Candle

Top View of Candle on Its Side

The candle has a rounded bottom and stands at 2.19 inches in height and 1.75 inches in diameter. It’s constructed in 7 tiers, where each tier gets smaller as it moves up from the base to the top. It is modeled this way so that it can resemble the shape of a beehive. The entire surface is adorned with honeycomb-like patterns that evoke the natural roots of the eco-friendly candle. Three parallelograms are engraved into the wax within each honeycomb, which is the shape of a hexagon. 

 The object also features a miniature, golden figurine of a honey bee lying on its surface. The bee has six legs and five sections indicating its abdomen. It also has two antennas and a set of long wings with two forewings and two hind wings. The bee’s body measures 0.875 inches in size and its wings measure 1.1875 inches. The bee’s body and wings are both made from a translucent, plastic material. The body has a golden hue of yellow, resembling the appearance of natural honey. The wings, however, appear as basic clear plastic. There are small linear markings on the wings of the bee, which were likely made during the production process. The candle itself is molded from a soft wax that is very delicate. If given enough pressure, the wax could be deformed by hand. The back of the candle is slightly dented, likely due to its fragility and being moved around. 

Bottom of the candle

Post-It and Craft Tape Attached to Bottom of the Candle

Beneath the candle is the coiled pattern of the wax as it is wrapped in a beehive shape. This feature is covered by a piece of a light blue Post-It that is cut out in an irregular circle. The circle was made to protect the bottom of the candle so that the natural wax doesn’t leave a residue on my desk. On top of the Post-It, there is a piece of ripped crafters tape with the date “9/20/23” and the number “326” written on it in black pen. 

The wick on all of Rite Lite Ltd.’s natural beeswax candles, according to their  ingredients list, is composed of 100% cotton and are lead-free. The top of my candle, however, has no wick. This unusual detail, including the date and number listed beneath the candle, are tied to the story from when I brought this souveniur back to school with me.

I went to the New York Botanical Garden with my roommate through the honors program at SUNY New Paltz. At the time, this outing was one of our first bonding experiences as roommates. We had only known each other for a couple of weeks, having met during Welcome Week and by living together for a short time. When browsing at the gift shop together, we both fell in love with the candle and agreed that it was essential for me to buy it. 

The beehive candle found a lovely home on my desk near all of my golden butterfly cutouts and faux leaves decorations. My roommate thought that it matched the aesthetic of our room very well. Unfortunately, its place there didn’t last long since it was taken away in the next Dorm Room Check. 

The candle was confiscated since they are a fire safety hazard in the rooms on campus. Although I bought the candle solely for decoration, I didn’t realize that having an unlit, wicked candle was forbidden. 

I had numerous conversations with the Resident Assistants and Directors trying to retrieve my candle. It held sentimental value to me and the day I spent with my roommate. After some time, they gave me the candle back but required me to cut the wick off. 

Even though the resident officials informed me about the potential risks of the candle when handing it back to me, the consequences of owning it still followed me and my roommate for months. Throughout the fall semester, we received several emails about our prohibited item and were even told to attend a private meeting with the Resident Director to discuss the seriousness of our situation. 

Owning the candle caused a lot of issues between us and the resident officials, yet my roommate remained kind and patient throughout it all. Despite not owning the candle herself, she didn’t allow the inconvenience of attending the fire safety lectures to affect her opinion of me. 

I see the candle as a symbolic representation of our friendship and my roommate’s character. Her patience and forgiveness during the situation allowed us to become great friends over time. She never got upset for having to face the repercussions of my own mistake. Instead, she chose to leave this moment in the past, which allowed us to bond over how much we had in common. Now, the candle has taken a deeper meaning than a small souvenir from our trip; it symbolizes our loyalty to one another. We’re always there for each other through moments of laughter, sadness, accomplishment, or distress. The bottom of the candle dates the time my candle was confiscated, which started the never-ending series of conversations with the resident officials. Today, my roommate and I can laugh about the situation and how my innocent mistake created our origin story as compatible roommates. 

Works Cited:

“Bee Parts: Anatomy and Senses of the Bee | Celebrating Nebraska Pollinators | PBS LearningMedia.” PBS LearningMedia, 2022, ny.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/celebrating-pollinators-bee-parts-anatomy-gallery/celebrating-nebraska-pollinators-image-gallery/. Accessed 6 Sept. 2024.

“Hanukkah Candles – Beeswax, Assorted Colors.” NYBG Shop, 2024, nybgshop.org/hanukkah-candles-beeswax-assorted-colors/. Accessed 6 Sept. 2024.

“View :: Rite Lite Ltd.” Ritelite.com, 2024, ritelite.com/Products/ProductView/Category/SHAB/4829. Accessed 6 Sept. 2024.