What is a Yahrzeit and a Yahrzeit Candle?
A Yahrzeit (Yiddish for “a year’s time”) is the anniversary of the death of a loved one. Every year it is Jewish custom (minhag) to light a special candle that burns for 25 hours, called a Yahrzeit candle. The candle is lit on the Yahrzeit date of that person’s death, as well as on certain holidays and during the initial mourning period immediately following a death.
Traditionally Yahrzeit candles are lit for the same deceased relatives that one would recite the Mourner’s Kaddish for parents, spouses, siblings, and children, but there is no reason one could not light a Yahrzeit candle to honor the anniversary of the death of someone who doesn’t fall into one of these categories (e.g. a friend, grandparent, boyfriend/girlfriend, etc.). Jewish religious law (halachah) does not require lighting Yahrzeit candles, but the tradition has become an important part of Jewish life and mourning.