Paschal candle

The Paschal candle is the large candle lit from the New Fire at the Catholic, Anglican, or Lutheran Easter Vigil; it is then kept burning at services through the Easter season to Pentecost. The candle is decorated with the Greek letters Alpha and Omega (the first and last letters, signifying Christ as the beginning and end), the year, and five grains of incense set into the wax in the form of a cross (signifying the five wounds of Christ). The lighting of the Paschal candle from the New Fire at the start of the Easter Vigil and the procession of the lit candle into the dark church mark the transition from the darkness of Holy Week to the light of Easter.