Thank you for honoring those you love, remember, or celebrate by “lighting” our free candles. We are moved and humbled that so many around the world have found comfort and support in our Light a Candle feature.
Many people appreciate being part of a community with a specific focus as they engage in candle-lighting rituals. As such, we offer the following way to informally affiliate with an issue, or a “group,” so that you can connect with others who have shared concerns:
How to Establish a Candle Group:
1. Create a candle group name. It is best to use something specific — an unusual word or an acronym associated with your “group” — rather than a commonly used word like “prayer,” “love,” or “grateful. ” A candle group is established when multiple people light a candle using this shared candle group name as the dedication. See the following instructions for how to light a candle with the candle group name.
2. Share your candle group name with your group participants and invite them to light a candle.
2a) To light a candle, participants should click the following link: https://grateful.org/light-a-candle/. Participants will then click “Begin” and follow the prompts to light a candle.
2b) During the light a candle process, users will have the chance to dedicate and sign their candle (see screenshot below). Here participants should enter the candle group name in the box below the following prompt: “If you wish, add a short dedication which will appear if someone clicks your candle.” Participants can then complete the light a candle process by following the prompts.
How to View Candles in Your Group:
1. View all candles. There are two ways to do this:
- On the final page of the light a candle process, users can click “View all Candles.”
- Users may also view all candles by visiting the main Light a Candle page and clicking “View Candles.”
2. Search for your candle group. When looking for your group’s candles, search your candle group name in the search field in the upper right hand corner of the page, as in this image:
- All candles with messages containing your candle group name will appear. It is then possible to open the candles to read the messages.
- After opening a candle within the group, use the back arrow to return to the grouping rather than clicking on “Back to Candles.” This way you can dip in and out of your candle group and also quickly see how many candles are lit.
We hope you find that joining with others to light candles will be a source of great comfort and healing.
