Light a candle in memory of someone — and it stays
Light a candle for someone you have lost and it takes a permanent place on a public wall among thousands of others. It carries their name and a few words from you, it does not burn out after a day, and you get a link you can send to anyone else who loved them. The wall holds 1,000,000 candles — when the last one is lit, it is sealed and nothing is ever added again.
What happens after you light it?
Your candle appears on the wall immediately, in a spot that becomes its own. The wall fills from the middle outwards, so a candle lit today stands near the ones lit before it rather than at the end of a queue — and once it has a place, that place never changes.
You get a permanent link to it. Send that to family, or keep it. The link is also printed on the receipt that arrives by email, so it is not lost if you close the page.
Anyone can find the candle later by searching the wall for the name on it.
How is this different from a free online candle?
Most free candles are lit for a moment. On the best known of them a candle burns for 24 hours and then it is gone from the page. That is a fine thing to do, and if what you want is a candle for one evening, a free one is the right choice and we would rather say so than pretend otherwise.
This is a different object. Your candle does not disappear, and it is not on a page of its own — it joins one wall that is slowly filling toward a million. When the millionth is lit the wall closes, and the intention is to place the whole thing in the Internet Archive, so it can stay findable even after the site itself is gone. The name you write becomes part of a finished thing rather than a page someone has to keep paying for.
What do people write on a candle?
A name, and usually a short line — the kind of thing you would say out loud if you were lighting a real candle. It does not have to be a long tribute. “Dad. Still miss your terrible jokes.” says more than a whole paragraph would.
⚠️ The wall is public, so write with that in mind. If something is only for the family, keep it for the family.
Can I light candles for more than one person?
Yes, in the same purchase. Each one gets its own name, its own few words and its own link, so you can send each person the right one.
- Light a candle for someone’s recovery — For someone who is ill — yours or theirs, with a link you can send them.
- Light a candle for a wish or a dream — An exam, a new job, a move — a wish put somewhere it will not sit in a drawer.
- Light a candle for a birthday — one that stays — Not a cake you blow out — a candle with their name that is still there next year.
- Light a candle for someone and send them the link — For a bad week, or just because — something that took more than typing a message.
- Light a candle to say thank you — For the teacher, the nurse, the friend who showed up — and never heard it.
- What One Million Candles is, and why it exists