paschal candle

noun

1. a tall candle, symbolizing Christ, that is sometimes blessed and placed on the gospel side of an altar on Holy Saturday and kept burning until Ascension Day.

Example Sentences

After starting the service in the rear of the church with the traditional lighting of a large paschal candle, he was taken in a wheelchair to the front to preside at the Mass.

From Reuters

Hundreds of people lit candles in the vast Cathedral of St. Paul, Minnesota, after Archbishop Bernard Hebda blessed the fire and lit the Paschal Candle to open the Easter Vigil service late Saturday.

From Washington Times

Hundreds of people lit candles in the vast Cathedral of St. Paul, Minnesota, after Archbishop Bernard Hebda blessed the fire and lit the Paschal Candle to open the Easter Vigil service late Saturday.

From Seattle Times

Alma is her father’s daughter, railing against capitalism and the whitewashed history of the Alamo between sips at the bar, though she’ll let up on her lefty critiques and suspicion of institutions to attend an Easter service if it’s her mom’s turn to light the paschal candle.

From Slate

The paschal candle, used by various Christian communities, is a larger, communal candle whose flame is shared, and thus spread, at baptisms and funerals and on feast days.

From Washington Post