A Light from the past

My family treasure is an old oil lamp which has survived to this day. In 1956, eleven years had passed since the end of the Second World War. At that time, in some villages and countries, there was no electricity. The oil lamp was designed and constructed in 1853 by Ignacy Łukasiewicz, who was a Master of Pharmacy. This lamp was very helpful in many households. When it was dark outside, people used oil lamps to brighten the rooms and to do some housework. The glow of the oil lamp gave people a sense of security and comfort after nightfall.

The oil lamp has just made people’s lives easier and better.

The popularity of the oil lamp was between 1860 and 1920, but the oil lamp was also used after 1950. In 1956 my grandfather lived in a small village situated 30 km from my hometown – Warka. He was seven years old and he was a student at a primary school in the village where he lived. There was no electricity because there were no electrical networks at all. My grandfather told me about the oil lamp and how his family had used it. If you wanted to use the lamp, you needed some paraffin. It was a kind of power for this lamp. People could buy paraffin in a hardware shop. The paraffin was kept in barrels, so when people wanted to buy some paraffin they usually took empty one-litre bottles to bring it home. Each member of the family could light the lamp. Inside the lamp, there was a wick which was made of cotton. If you wanted to light the oil lamp, you had to put some paraffin into the lamp. There was a special opening to pour the paraffin into the lamp. Later, the wick was lit with a match. When the wick started burning, a special glass cover was put on the top of the lamp. It was done to protect the flame from spreading. This was also one example of how people protected their houses and farm buildings against fire. By the oil lamp, there was a special mirror which reflected the light to give more light. There was also a special knob to set the flame. When the wick was used up, people replaced it with a new one. The oil lamp accompanied people when they spent time together, worked in a byre and looked after the animals. It was also used by children while doing their homework.

To sum up, this is a very important treasure for me because I cannot even imagine life without electricity. I can only imagine how hard life was in the past. The oil lamps are great decorations in homes and restaurants now, and sometimes we can use them in case of a blackout. But the question is – Is it possible to buy paraffin anywhere nowadays? It is a good idea to start using oil lamps now because nothing brings a family together better than the warm heat radiating from the lamp and the time spent together. It could be a brilliant idea to propose spending some family time around the flame, for example for people who are only concentrated on their work. Just think about it!