The country has been informed that the threat of forced cuts is low, but the demand for outdated wax lighting is high.
Germans seek solace in the yellow glow of the flames opened this Christmas, as the revival of festive traditions, coupled with fear of blackouts, make candles the target of the new storage frenzy.
On Sunday, many German families will stick to the culture of lighting the first of 4 candles in their Adventskranz wreath, which is placed or hung on the dining room table.
But as fears of fuel rationing and forced cuts in Russia’s war in Ukraine invade the country, candles have also experienced a resurgence as a reliable way to smooth out homes. types, adding candles, wax candles and pillar,” with overall sales up about a quarter from last winter.
While customer coverage organization Environmental Action Germany (DUH) has suggested citizens abandon American-style “lighting” and leave their LED garlands in the attic this year, some Christmas tree vendors have provided genuine candles as more energy-efficient opportunities than electric lights. .
Public broadcaster ARD recently released a short video advising others to oppose building “candle warming furnaces” to heat their homes. The heat generated, he warned, is negligible compared to the potential fire risk.
The growing demand for candles was already a noticeable side effect, as other people spent more time at home during the pandemic, a spokesperson for the European Candle Manufacturers Association said, and sales across the continent increased especially between 2020 and 2021.
“We weren’t sure what to expect this year,” said Ann-Kristin Müller Müller Kerzen, a West German candle production company operating in Europe. “But it turns out that other people are stocking up on candles ahead of a dubious winter.
“My circle of relatives has been in the candle industry for 8 generations, and it turns out that ours is a very crisis-resistant company. In difficult times, other people crave the comfort of a flickering flame.
After two years of booming sales, Bavarian candle maker Gala had also predicted that sales would return to pre-pandemic levels. “But all those discussions about blackouts encouraged other people to accumulate, so we didn’t realize the difference,” he said.
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Germany’s Federal Office for Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance said this week that “a large-scale blackout in Germany is incredibly unlikely” this winter. Stabilize the network in case of temporary shortages.
But Gala managing director Thomas Schröder said the boom in candle sales also evoked a broader cultural trait. “There has been a deep German preference for an austere type of Gemütlichkeit or comfort, of humans gathered around an open flame,” he said. Why do you still have other people like me, who insist on lighting their Christmas tree with genuine candles instead of string lights, with a bucket of water in one position in case of emergency?
The vast majority of Germans used electric lamps on their trees, Schröder admitted, a trend that most likely would not be reversed this year. December since 2015.