December 7th in Colombia is not a day for giving gifts. It is a day for lighting them. And for a few years now the candle has stopped being the plain white one from the supermarket and started carrying the name of each person in the house. This guide is how we make them, how many a household usually needs, and above all how far ahead to order, because December fills up sooner than people expect.
What Día de las Velitas is
It is the night of December 7th, the eve of the 8th, when Colombia marks the Immaculate Conception. Candles and paper lanterns go out on pavements, windows, balconies and doorways, and in practice it is the night that opens Christmas in Colombia. In Medellín and the metro area whole streets light up at once, and it is one of the few traditions where the neighbours all step outside at the same time.
That is the setting. What changed is what gets lit.
Why the name candle became the gift of that night
A plain candle is lit and then it is gone. A candle with the name of the person lighting it does something else: everyone looks for their own, and the row of candles on the pavement stops being a pile of candles and becomes the family, in order, each with their own light.
It costs little in materials and carries a lot of meaning, which is exactly where a handmade gift works. It also solves the question of what to bring when someone invites you to their house that night.
How a personalized candle is made
It starts with a plain white candle. From there the work goes in layers, and each one has to dry before the next:
- The colour base, hand painted onto the body of the candle.
- The glitter along the lower section, red or green, which gives it the festive finish and is what you see from down the street once it is lit.
- The name and the Christmas motif, applied over the painted band.
- The packaging, either a kraft sleeve or a window box with a ribbon.
We work in batches. It is not one candle at a time, it is a whole run moving together from layer to layer, which is why quantity affects the lead time far more than the design does.
Three ways to personalize them
All three get ordered, and the right one depends on what the candle is for:
- With each person's name. The family set. Everyone lights their own and the candle marks their place on the pavement.
- With a wish instead of a name. Health, family, love, abundance, work, prosperity. You light one per wish and the evening has a shape to it.
- The full set with the wish list. The candles come in a window box with a card to write out by hand what you are asking of the coming year. This is the one most often given to another household, because it arrives ready to hand over.
How many to order
For one household the usual answer is one per person plus two or three spares, because someone always turns up and because one always blows out and gets relit. A family of five is usually fine with eight.
If it is a gift, the boxed set of six works best: it covers a small family and looks complete when opened.
For a company, a housing complex or a building, tell us how many flats or how many employees and we quote by quantity. Large orders have to start in November, not December.
How far ahead to order
This is the part people leave until last and it is the part that decides everything. The paint and glitter layers need drying time between them, so a batch does not come out the same day. And the last week of November and the first of December are the two busiest weeks of the year for anyone doing this by hand in Medellín.
We are not going to print a fixed number of days here, because it depends on the quantity and we would be making it up. What we do know: if you want them for the 7th, write to us in November. Send us the quantity and the names and we will confirm the real delivery date before you pay anything.
Delivery in Medellín and the metro area
We deliver the whole order on a single date to a single address, in Medellín, Envigado, Itagüí, Sabaneta, Bello and La Estrella. For December 7th we arrange delivery one or two days beforehand rather than on the day: the city is packed that night and we do not want your order depending on traffic.
Frequently asked questions
When is Día de las Velitas in Colombia?
It is the night of December 7th, the eve of the 8th, when Colombia marks the Immaculate Conception. Candles and lanterns are lit on pavements, windows and balconies, and it is the night that opens Christmas in Colombia.
Can you put each family member’s name on them?
Yes, that is the most requested version. We need the list of names exactly as you want them written, because each candle is painted and lettered separately.
How far ahead should personalized candles be ordered?
If you want them for December 7th, write to us in November. The colour and glitter layers need drying time between them and we work in batches, so the lead time depends on the quantity. Send us how many you need and we will confirm the real delivery date before you pay anything.