Fire and light have been closely associated in various religious creeds and their ceremonies.  The Hindu festival in honor of the goddess of prosperity is attended by the burning of many lamps in the temples and homes.  The Jewish synagogues have their eternal lamps and in their rituals fire and light have played prominent roles.  The devout Brahman maintains a fire on the hearth and worships it as omniscient and divine.  He expects a brand from this to be used to light his funeral pyre, whose fire and light will make his spirit fit to enter his heavenly abode.  He keeps a fire burning on the altar, worships Agni, the god of fire, and makes fire sacrifices on various occasions such as betrothals and marriages.  To the Mohammedans lighted lamps symbolize holy places, and the Kaaba at Mecca, which contains a black stone supposed to have been brought from heaven, is illuminated by thousands of lamps.  Many of the uses to which light was put in ancient times indicate its rarity and sacred nature.  Doubtless, the increasing use of artificial light at festivals and celebrations of the present time is partly the result of lingering customs of bygone centuries and partly due to a recognition of an innate appeal or attribute of light.  Certainly nothing is more generally appropriate in representing joy and prosperity.

Throughout all countries ancient races had woven natural light and fire into their rites and customs, so it became a natural step to utilize artificial light and fire in the same manner.  It would be tedious and monotonous to survey the vast field of ancient worship of light, for the underlying ideas are generally similar.  The mythology of the Greeks is illustrative of the importance attached to fire and light by the cultivated peoples of ancient times.  The myth of Prometheus emphasizes the fact that in those remote periods fire and light were regarded as of prime importance.  According to this myth, fire and light were contained in heaven and great cunning and daring were necessary in order to obtain it.  Prometheus stole this heavenly fire, for which act he was chained to the mountain and made to suffer.  The Greeks mark this event as the beginning of human civilization.  All arts are traced to Prometheus, and all earthly woe likewise.  As past history is surveyed it appears natural to think of scientific men who have become martyrs to the quest of hidden secrets.  They have made great sacrifices for the future benefit of civilization and not a few of them have endured persecution even in recent times.  The Greeks recognized that a new era began with the acquisition of artificial light.  Its divine nature was recognized and it became a phenomenon for worship and a means for representing divine presence.  The origin of fire and light made them holy.  The fire on the altar took its place in religious rites and there evolved many ceremonial uses of lamps, candles, and fire.