“I am remembering one of the six million,” reads the slogan for the Yellow Candle project.
The project provides those who sign up with a yellow memorial candle in a box containing a card providing the name, age, date, and place of death of a victim of the Holocaust. People are then encouraged to light their candles and post images of these on social media on the evening of Yom HaShoah.
The Yellow Candle Project is an act of memorialisation that works as a current and constantly evolving memorial. This year, the project has introduced the ‘Remembrance to Renewal’ initiative. Each candle is also being accompanied by sunflower seeds, to plant in the tin once the candle has finished burning. This environmentally friendly aspect of the project not only connects the past to the present, but also gives hope for the future.
The project is really important, as it is a simple way to get many people involved in the act of remembrance. As photos are also shared on social media, it is a good way to open up a conversation with friends, family, and other followers about the Holocaust and encourage them to take the time to remember the victims.
By Jasper Hawkes & Amelia Trencher
Inspired by the Yellow Candle Project, I used fingerprints to create an image of a candle, in order to show that each of us today who take the time to remember the Holocaust have our own identity (shown by the uniqueness of fingerprints) but we all come together to remember the victims and survivors, because we view it as more important than our differences.
By Amelia Trencher