Peace Candle
The Peace Candle has undergone several changes and variations over the last 58 years. The current candle was built in 1990, and is expected to last until about 2014, after which time Easton officials expect to build a new one. As of 2009, the central main candle stands , and the base brings it to about . It reaches a height of about above ground level when factoring the monument it rests atop. When the candle is assembled, several by 8-foot by box pieces are placed around the Soldiers' & Sailors' Monument, a Civil War memorial in Centre Square, the town square of Easton's Downtown neighborhood. Made from marine-grade plywood and galvanized steel, the box pieces are stacked vertically until the structure is assembled, and then bolted together using about 500 bolts inside the Peace Candle. The flame placed atop the candle is about high and illuminated with 31 bulbs. The entire structure weighs between eight and 10 tons. The main candle is surrounded by four, high side candles, and a fountain that surrounds the Peace Candle's base is filled with a ring of Christmas trees.
Peace Candle
In the fall of 1967, it was decided the Christmas Candle would be renamed the Peace Candle, because the city planned to sell Christmas cards depicting the structure and hoped Easton would become known as "the Peace Candle city". On October 18, the city's businesses issued a statement, "Whether you choose to call it a Christmas Candle or a Peace Candle is not important. The important aspect is that the Candle is our clarion call, and this call will be issued this year as a reaffirmation of our desire for peace and harmony in all facts of our lives and throughout the world." On November 27, 1967, about 1,500 people attended the Peace Candle lighting, which would prove to be the final ceremony of its kind for that incarnation of the candle, which would be rebuilt in subsequent years. The bells of six different downtown churches were rung during the ceremony, and people surrounded the Peace Candle holding lit wax candles themselves. Also in 1967, a photo and caption of the Peace Candle was featured in the December 6 issue Weekly Reader, a national children's newspaper circulated in the nation's schools. A columnist for the magazine named "Aunt Em" said it was featured because, "I think the candle in Easton is especially lovely since it is a symbol for both Hanukkah and Christmas". Appeared on December 6, 1967.