CANORA - On Feb. 3, 2025 approximately 20 youth from three local churches – Sts. Peter & Paul Ukrainian Catholic Church, St. Joseph’s Roman Catholic Church, and Holy Trinity Ukrainian Orthodox Church – gathered together along with parents, volunteers, and three priests for a candle-making workshop.
The workshop was organized and led by Fr. Ivan Simko of Sts. Peter and Paul, who has been in Canora now for a year-and-a-half. The idea came to him while reflecting on one of the 12 major feasts in the liturgical year that is celebrated on Feb. 2.
Fr. Ivan explains: “In the Ukrainian Catholic and Orthodox churches, we call this feast the Encounter of Our Lord. Roman Catholics call it the Presentation of Our Lord. But we all celebrate this same feast on Feb. 2 each year, which marks 40 days after the Feast of the Nativity of Our Lord (Christmas). Mary and Joseph bring the child Jesus to Jerusalem in order to fulfill the law of the Lord that “Every first-born male shall be consecrated to the Lord.” (See Luke 2: 22-40)
“It is a tradition for the Ukrainian Catholic and Orthodox faithful to bring candles to church on this feast day to be blessed after the liturgy. Our parish often works together with St. Joseph’s for youth events, so we invited them to be part of this too.”
The participants made hand-dipped taper candles, a very traditional way of making candles. The process involves hanging a long piece of wick over a small wooden board. There are two small weights tied to each end of the wick, which are gently lowered into a pot of hot melted wax and then lifted up again quickly. Once the wax stops dripping, each participant goes back to the end of the line and waits for another turn to dip, since the wax needs to cool before the next layer goes on. This process continues for approximately 20-22 dips for each participant. With more than 20 pairs of candles being made, it took nearly two hours to finish.
Most of the participants were from Canora or surrounding farms, with youth from Kamsack and Preeceville Ukrainian Catholic parishes (which Fr. Ivan serves) also participating. All of the beeswax and supplies were donated by Fr. Ivan’s parents, who used to keep beehives for many years.
At the end of the workshop, Fr. Ivan alongside Fr. Yurii Obukh from Holy Trinity Ukrainian Orthodox Church blessed the candles, with Fr. Yurii’s wife Dobrodika Liudmyla Obukh singing (Fr. Basil Malowany from Yorkton was unable to stay until the end, and Fr. Thomas Mutavanattu from St. Joseph’s was unable to attend).
Fr. Ivan encouraged the youth: “Let the candles be a reminder of the light of Christ, and may the love of Christ burn in your hearts.”
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