"How do you know that? Did you hold a candle? ” or "Well, how do I know, I did not hold a candle!". Winged phrases, one way or another connected with the notorious "holding a candle" can be heard in everyday speech quite often. Their meaning is simple - to witness any events, especially related to someone else's personal, intimate life.
But why a candle? Why don’t we say “I didn’t spy”? And in general, what does “holding a candle” mean and where did this expression come from? There are three different versions on this score - one more interesting than the other.
Version number 1. Russian
Proponents of this version suggest: the roots of what the expression "hold a candle" means should be sought in ancient Russia. Then the main purpose of marriage, and indeed life, was considered the continuation of the clan. Therefore, the married life of the newlyweds should be the most “real”, with all the intimate details that follow from this.
The relatives of the bride and groom just needed to make sure of this. Therefore, one of them remained behind the bedroom door and peeped through a crack, taking a candle with him for a better view. After making sure that everything was “in order” with the young spouses, this curious man immediately ran to tell the rest of his relatives that, supposedly, the heirs would appear - there was nothing to worry about.
Version number 2. French
Another version of what “candle held” means came to us from France. There exists a curious expression, which translates as “I did not hold a candle there!”. They said it contrary to the famous French gossipers, who did not feed bread, just let me discuss the details of someone’s intimate life.
And the very expression, which in French sounds like this: Que voulez-vous! Je n'y ai pas tenu la chandelle most likely became popular thanks to the engraving by Italian artist Agostino Karacci. It depicts a pair of lovers in an “interesting” occupation, and next to it is a woman holding a candle directly above them to provide them with a sufficient amount of light.
This engraving is so widely known among the French that they gave it, instead of its original, long and official name, another short and concise one. Namely, Tenir la chandelle, which means “holding a candle” or “holding a candle” (about a woman in engraving).
