Tapers or dinner candles, as they are also called, are usually 3/4" to 1" in diameter, ranging from 6" - 18" tall. Tapers need to be securely set in an appropriately designed candle holder, which will keep them in an upright position for proper and safe burning.

Tapers are my candle of choice for pysankarstvo.  The have an easy to access flame, and burn the hottest of most candles.  Tall tapers, though, are awkward, and should be avoided.  The ideal tapers for use during pysankarstvo is about six inches tall. 

There are three ways to obtain such short tapers.  The first is to use partially burned tapers, those left over from the dinner table, church, etc.

The second is to cut full length tapers in half.  It would be wasteful (and expensive) to do this to fancy taper candles; however, if you can find some at a garage sale, a dollar store, or selling cheaply after the holidays, it might be worthwhile.  At camp in Ukraine we buy cheap paraffin tapers, and I cut those in half with a Swiss army knife for our classes.

The third is to buy short tapers.  You can find so-called “emergency candles” in many stores, including dollar stores.  The tapers are short and will burn for many hours.  The ones pictured below are from Dollar Tree in the US, and burn for 5 hours each, long enough for most pysanka classes/sessions.

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