The candle was used as a clock in the past to measure time. It was made from a specific type of wax, with a set height and width and a known rate of burning. When lit, it would be able to show the passage of time via evenly spaced graduations down the side of the candle. This is still used today to mark occasions – such as during advent and the countdown to Christmas.
The hourglass was used, and is still used in some situations today, as a timer to measure the passage of time accurately. When the sand has run from the upper bulb to the lower bulb this signifies a known quantity of time has passed. It is still used today as a timer in some board games.
Earth’s connection with the sun has been used since ancient times to explain the passage of time in hours, days and years. Ancient Egyptians used the sundial as a means of telling the time by the position of the sun in the sky. Time could be measured by the position of a shadow on the sundial which aligned with various markings or hour lines to indicate what time of day it was. Even today, a year on earth is measured from the time it takes the earth to orbit around the sun. Similarly, each day is depicted by a new sunrise and each night by a new sunset. In this way we can see that the sun is earth’s natural timekeeper.
