Mostly people do it so they feel better about themselves. Especially if candles are lit for dead people. The exact religious purpose isn’t really that important
JenL
Gotta love The Onion…
Anonymous
There are no real stories on this subject, so we have to mine The Onion?
Ronramrod8
“everybody does it”
Annie
While growing up catholic, it always irked me that the advent candles consisted of three purple and one pink candle (or was it three pink and one purple?). I felt an even two and two would have made a much prettier display.
You’re right. I just googled the significance and it is chock full of circular logic… typical. It’s 3 purple and one pink ( purple= hope, purple = preparation, pink= joy, and purple = love).
“Bodybuilder Can’t Believe He Forgot to Develop Right Arm”
PJB863
When I was a kid growing up catholic, it was cool because it was the one time you were allowed to play with fire.
Otherwise, I wasn’t allowed to have matches until I was 14 and had to wait until I was 16 until they let me near any sharp objects. When I was 17, they took the sharp objects away. I’m 51 now, and they still don’t let me have anything sharp.
starskeptic
um…I GET the Onion, folks –
but Hemant’s use of this as a heading:
“Adding to the list of things Catholics don’t know about their own religion…” – to seemingly add, as fodder, to his previous item :
“Survey Says Catholics Are Becoming Less Catholic”has NOTHING to do with the picture as presented by the Onion – it’s exactly like the using of a non-existent Jefferson quote to say “see – those theists just don’t get it”
on Onion: funny!
here (as used): NOT funny!
Charles Black
Its stories like these that make me think that people only identify with religion out of tradition, not because they really follow the religion in question.
Drew Bentley
So, get your own blog and put whatever you want on it then. No reason to be so up tight about what Hemant posts here and what he and others might think is funny.
Ed L
If you’re in a Catholic church and you light a votive candle you’re supposed to put some cash in the adjacent box. If you don’t the magic doesn’t work.
starskeptic
…no reason for you to be an a**hole by implying someone should just shut up because they don’t agree with you; that’s how the other side behaves…
I always thought it was kind of like burning incense- send those prayers to heaven in the convection current.
Anyway, I love the smell of beeswax candles and the way they shed a soft glow on old cathedral walls.
Oh the incense. I need to get some of that for my house. I really always liked its scent.
Anonymous
Not all religion maybe, but it’s especially true for a lot of Catholics. Not a bad thing really. I’d rather they follow it out of tradition than true conviction
Stogoe
Shorter starkeptic: “I am aware of all internet traditions.”
Cameron
The point is that to somebody who doesn’t come here often (like me) it looks like the blog author doesn’t understand that The Onion is a humour website.
starskeptic
…exactly my point, thank you Cameron!..
starskeptic
longer Stogoe: “I can use an oxymoron to put words in someone’s mouth without even knowing what an ‘oxymoron’ is.”
