The powers of candlelight have long been part of Everywoman's arsenal. Beauty or not, she always looks loveliest in the warm glow thrown off by wax tapers gleaming over a banquet table or on a banquette in a quiet bistro. Largely because of this candelabracadabra, candles continued to sell at a respectable pace long after the rural-electrification program brought light bulbs into the most remote corners of the U.S. In recent months, however, Americans have gone on a candle-buying spree, spurred on by necessity, a changing national mood and by new candle shops stocked with imaginatively shaped and scented products.
Many residents...