Traditions of Yahrzeit
What is yahrzeit?
Yahrzeit is a Yiddish word that means anniversary of a death. Honoring the date of a loved one’s passing is very important in Jewish culture.
Jewish people observe yahrzeit at home by burning a special memorial candle -- a yahrzeit (or zikaron, which means memory) candle in honor of the one they lost. These are special candles that burn for up to 26 hours so that they last for the entire date of the anniversary -- from sunset to sunset. (In Jewish culture, the beginning of a day starts at sunset, not 12AM.) These candles are also lit on certain Jewish holidays, such as Yom Kippur or for the 8th day of Sukkot. They are also lit daily for shiva, the week-long mourning period after death.
Many observant Jews will light longer-lasting candles that last two to three days at the start of holidays since lighting flames on most holidays is prohibited. 48 hour and 72 hour candles exist for those that wish to do this.
In the modern era, you can buy an electric yahrzeit candle if you’re worried about fire hazards.
On Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day), many Jewish communities light a candle to honor the 6,000,000 Jewish lives lost in the Holocaust.
Our purpose in sharing these tidbits is not to imply that these traditions have to be followed by believers in Jesus/Messianic Jews, but in order to help others better learn about and understand their Jewish neighbors and friends so that they can better build bridges and connections with them.