DIY Paschal Candle for Home (Catholic Easter Tradition!)

In every Catholic church you will find an “Easter Candle” (aka Paschal Candle) in the front of the church near the altar. There is a new candle each Easter, and it is lit though the entire Easter season! Having a Paschal candle at home is a great way to celebrate the Easter season at home as well! You can find all of my ideas for celebrating all 50 days of Easter here. Today, let’s take a look at diy Paschal candles for the home- a Catholic tradition!

Common Paschal Candle Symbols

What goes on a Paschal candle, anyway? You will need to understand a little about these candles before you can make your own for at home!

Disclaimer: Always use caution with fire around children and in the home. Never decorate a candle in a way that cause any type of fire hazard. Also, some of the links in this post are affiliate links, meaning if you click through and purchase the item, I make a small commission at no extra cost to you. 

Traditional Easter (or Paschal) Candles Symbols Include:

• White Candle- the candle itself is white, which along with gold, is the liturgical color of the Easter season. 
• A Cross- this is usually the center of the design. These are usually red and/or gold. 
• The Year- either surrounding the cross (2 numbers on top of the cross arms and 2 number under the cross arms) or the full year can be at the bottom of the candle.
• Alpha and Omega- to represent the beginning and the end, are above (alpha) and below (omega) the cross. 
• Cloves- 5 cloves can be included on the candle. These represent the nails that hung Jesus on the cross, and also the 5 wound of Christ. These are placed into the end of the arm of each cross, and one right in the middle of the cross.
• Eucharistic Symbols- this can include the Paschal Lamb, Eucharist, chalice, grapes, wheat, pelican, etc. These symbols are usually under the traditional cross. 
• Decorative Borders- there can be beautiful and colorful decorative borders all around the Easter candle. 

When Paschal Candles Are Lit

At church, the Easter candle is lit for all the services through Pentecost! This starts at the Easter Vigil Mass, and goes through the entire 50 days Easter season, which includes 8 Sundays, ending with Pentecost Sunday.

After Pentecost Sunday, the Easter candle is moved near the Baptismal font. The Baptism candles are lit from the Easter candle, symbolizing the person being baptized receiving the light of Christ. The Easter candle can also be lit for funerals. 

When To Light Your Paschal Candle At Home

At home, you can light the candle every day during the Easter season! For our family, we light it:

• During Dinner- Just like our Advent wreath, we like to light the candle during before dinner prayers, and let it burn while we eat. The kids take turns blowing it out after dinner. 
• During Family Prayers- you can light your Paschal candle at home whenever your family prays! Your home altar is a great place to put the candle during prayer time, or in general if you don’t want it on the dining room table. 
• At Baptism Anniversaries- Celebrating Baptism anniversaries is on my top 15 list for living the liturgical year at home! You can bring out your Paschal candle for these celebrations and use it to light the Baptism candle. 

Where To Put Your Paschal Candle

The middle of your dinner table is perfect if you’re lighting it during meal times. We also like to put ours on our Easter home altar!

Inserting The Cloves (With A Prayer)

As covered earlier, these represent the 5 wounds of Christ, and are shaped like nails. To make inserting the cloves easier, you’ll want to use a skewer or toothpick to poke the holes ahead of time. The cloves should insert nicely into these holes and stay snug in the wax. 

At the Easter Vigil Mass when the priest inserts the cloves into the Easter candle, this prayer is said. You can use the same prayer for inserting the 5 cloves into your candle:

1.     By his holy
2.     and glorious wounds
3.     may Christ our Lord
4.     guard us
5.     and keep us

Amen

You can find more prayers to go with the Easter candle here, including one to pray while adding the cross to your candle. 

You Can Buy A Paschal Candle

If you don’t want to make one yourself, you can just purchase a beautiful Easter candle for your family! Check out this beautiful option from Amazon. 

Ways You Can Make A DIY Paschal Candle

Get A White Pillar Candle

First, you will need a white pillar candle!

By far the cheapest place I have found white pillar candles is the Dollar Tree. You can also get those “religious” white candles that are in a glass jar and have pictures of the Saints on them at a lot of grocery stores or the candle aisle at Wal-Mart for a great price. Just soak them in warm water to remove the sticker, and clean off the stick goo with goo gone or baby oil.

Another great place to look for candles is Hobby Lobby. I like to get candles there that have a beautiful smell for when we light them. 

If your kids are little and the fire stresses you out, don’t hesitate to get a battery operated candle! There is no shame in living the liturgical year at home, and I like it to be as stress free as possible. 

Once you have your white pillar candle, there are several ways you can make this into an Easter candle for your home!

Scratch Design For Easter Candle

One of our favorite ways to decorate the candle into our own Paschal candle is with this simple scratch and paint technique! You can find my full directions for making your own scratch Paschal candle design here.

Printable Candle Wrap For Paschal Candle

You can use a printable and simply wrap it around the pillar candle. This printable changes each year because the year on the candle changes each year, so if you’re going this route, make sure you have found an updated download. I now have a free printable Easter candle wrap, so be sure to download that if you’re looking for the easiest way to have a home Easter candle ever. 😉

Decoupage On Religious Sticker Or Images

You can use stickers or other paper image you have cut out and decoupage them onto your pillar candle with Mod Podge. 

Paint Your Easter Candle

If you’re feeling artistic, the designs can actually be painted straight onto your pillar candle! I have a post about painting on Paschal Candles with acrylic paint here.

You can find more fun candle crafts here.

Bless Your New Easter Candle

When you’re finished making your Paschal candle, you can bless it yourself with some holy water, or take it to Mass with you and have your priest bless it. 

Check out all of my ways to celebrate the 50 days of Easter with your family here.