This is part of a series on nonviolent protest methods, which explains approaches and provides inspirational examples from history. For additional resources, please explore the Museum of Protest’s activist guides and view items in the collection.

Light has always been a rich symbol in human culture – representing hope in darkness, truth amidst ignorance, or remembrance of those lost. As a form of protest, symbolic lights tap into these universal meanings to send a powerful message. Holding a candle or shining a light can express mourning, unity, or defiance without a single spoken word. The very act of lighting a candle in the dark is an act of hope, and when thousands do it together, the visual impact is stunning.

“Alone, a candle … is a fragile, flickering light that can be extinguished by a whisper. Shared by millions, it becomes a shining beacon of hope,” observes Amnesty International, whose own logo is a candle encircled by barbed wire. This captures why protesters often turn to candles and lights: a small, individual light multiplied many times becomes an illuminating force that symbolizes collective resolve.

Symbolic lights are uniquely effective at conveying solidarity and peaceful intention. A crowd wielding candles or phone flashlights appears solemn and non-threatening – yet resolute. In fact, the image of candlelight is so tied to peaceful protest that in South Korea, “candlelight protests represent a peaceful yet powerful form of political collective action against injustice,” according to the Korea JoongAng Daily.

The soft glow of each candle shows that participants come in peace, appealing to the conscience of onlookers and authorities. There is even a practical reason: in some protests, carrying a candle occupies both hands, literally preventing the throwing of stones and signaling nonviolence.

During the 1989 East German demonstrations that led to the fall of the Berlin Wall, thousands marched with candles in Leipzig’s streets. It was later said that the regime “had planned for everything… but not for candles and prayers,” underscoring how those candlelit marches took the authorities by surprise, as reported by Church Times. The moral contrast was stark – unarmed citizens bearing only lights and faith, versus a heavily armed dictatorship – and it helped sway public opinion.

Beyond their emotional symbolism, lights attract attention. Visually, a sea of flames or phone lights in a nighttime rally makes for compelling images that media outlets eagerly broadcast. Iconic photographs of protests often feature candles precisely because they illustrate a narrative of hope and unity. For example, a vigil where thousands of tiny lights flicker in unison instantly tells a story of people coming together peacefully for a cause. These images can galvanize support far beyond the protest’s location.

In short, symbolic lights succeed on multiple levels: they create a poignant atmosphere, send a clear message of peaceful resolve, and generate evocative visuals that amplify the protesters’ voice.

Historical Examples

Throughout history, activists have used candles and other lights in some of the most poignant nonviolent protests. Below, we look at three significant instances where symbolic lights played a pivotal role in expressing dissent, solidarity, or remembrance.

Candlelight Protests in South Korea

One of the most famous modern examples is South Korea’s “Candlelight Protests,” a tradition of peaceful mass rallies lit by ordinary citizens holding candles. Candlelight protests (촛불집회) are symbolic collective gatherings of political dissent in South Korea to combat injustice peacefully, as documented on Wikipedia. This method began in the early 1990s and has since been used at critical moments of social protest.

The largest manifestation came in 2016–2017, when weekly candlelight vigils grew into what Koreans call the “Candlelight Revolution.” In these demonstrations, millions of people filled downtown Seoul and other cities, holding candles aloft to demand the ouster of President Park Geun-hye over a corruption scandal, according to Dissent Magazine.

The sight was awe-inspiring – families, students, and the elderly stood together in public squares, their faces illuminated by candlelight, chanting for democracy. As the protests continued every Saturday night, the crowds swelled. By early December 2016, the number of protesters in Seoul alone exceeded 2 million at a single gathering, as reported by the Asian Local and Public Finance Network.

Despite the huge numbers, the rallies remained peaceful, almost festival-like, with music, speeches and candle flames dancing in the winter air. This peaceful pressure had a decisive impact. Observers noted that it was the sustained candlelight demonstrations that “compelled parliament” to act, and indeed the National Assembly voted overwhelmingly to impeach President Park. In March 2017, the Constitutional Court upheld the impeachment, marking a remarkable triumph of nonviolent people power.

The Candlelight Protests demonstrated how lighting a candle can ignite democratic change, and they rejuvenated South Korea’s participatory democracy. To this day, South Koreans hold candlelight vigils as a go-to form of protest, and even online, young activists use the 🕯️ candle emoji to voice political frustration as a nod to this powerful tradition.

South Koreans hold a peaceful candlelight rally in central Seoul during the 2016–2017 protests. Hundreds of thousands gathered in such vigils each week, their candles symbolizing hope, unity, and a demand for justice.

The Baltic Way’s Chain of Light (1989)

Another striking example of symbolic lights came during the Baltic Way demonstration of 1989. The Baltic Way (also called the Baltic Chain) was a massive peaceful protest against Soviet rule, in which approximately 2 million people joined hands to form a human chain spanning over 600 kilometers across the three Baltic States – Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.

This unprecedented event took place on August 23, 1989, marking the 50th anniversary of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact that had led to the countries’ occupation. While the main act was the joining of hands across borders, symbolic lights played an important supporting role. Organizers had encouraged participants to bring candles and ribbons to literally “bridge” any gaps in the human chain, according to Lithuanian National Radio and Television.

As evening fell, many protesters did indeed light candles. In Vilnius, Lithuania’s capital, about 5,000 people gathered in Cathedral Square holding candles and singing national songs. Elsewhere, priests rang church bells and protesters carried candles alongside their national flags, which were draped with black ribbons in mourning for victims of Soviet repression.

This combination of candlelight and solidarity lent the demonstration a deeply poignant atmosphere. People who could not physically join the chain lit candles as a symbolic link, so that the chain of human grasp and the chain of light together would remain unbroken. The image of thousands of tiny flames flickering along the Baltic roads was emotionally powerful. It signified the burning desire for freedom and kept the protest solemn and peaceful.

The Baltic Way’s sea of lights not only drew global attention to the Baltics’ call for independence, but also built a sense of unity among participants. Many recall the event as “the revolution of candles” in their struggle. Within two years, all three Baltic nations regained their independence. The Baltic Way showed how symbolic public acts of light can be woven into large-scale demonstrations to amplify their impact – in this case helping turn a human chain into a shining beacon of freedom.

Tiananmen Square Vigils and Their Legacy

Symbolic lights have also been crucial in remembering and resisting oppression in China. After the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 were crushed by the Chinese military on June 4, resulting in hundreds of deaths, people in Hong Kong began an annual tradition of candlelight vigils to commemorate the victims and call for democracy in China.

Every year on the June 4 anniversary, Hong Kong’s Victoria Park became a sea of candlelight as tens of thousands – sometimes over a hundred thousand – people gathered for a solemn vigil, according to The Guardian. For instance, on the 30th anniversary in 2019, more than 100,000 people attended the Hong Kong vigil, each person holding a lit candle in silence.

These vigils were profoundly symbolic: the candles honored those who lost their lives in the pro-democracy movement, and the act of gathering defied the enforced silence in mainland China about the massacre. Attendees would typically observe moments of silence, sing songs like “Bloodstained Glory” (an anthem associated with Tiananmen), and quietly pledge to keep the memory alive.

As night fell and the park lights dimmed, the crowd would raise their candles high in the darkness – a powerful, haunting image. On one early anniversary, “when the floodlights dimmed, people passed several minutes of silence by raising thousands of candles” in the dark. The sea of flames communicated what could not be spoken openly in China: that the desire for freedom still burned brightly.

For decades, these Hong Kong vigils were the only large-scale public Tiananmen commemorations on Chinese soil, and the candlelight became a symbol of perseverance against forgetting. Even when authorities recently banned the mass vigils, Hong Kong citizens found ways to respond – lighting candles in windows or turning on cellphone lights in multiple districts to carry on the act of remembrance.

Similar candlelight memorials for Tiananmen have been held by Chinese diaspora and human rights groups around the world each year, underlining how a simple light can voice solidarity with the oppressed. The enduring image of the candlelight vigil for Tiananmen – peaceful citizens illuminating the night in memory and protest – has inspired many other movements to adopt candles as a symbol of collective conscience.

Thousands of people hold candles during a Tiananmen Square memorial vigil in Hong Kong’s Victoria Park (June 4, 2009). For 30 years, Hong Kong’s candlelight vigils peacefully remembered the victims of 1989 and signaled that the call for democracy would not be extinguished.

Effectiveness and Strategy of Light Protests

The above examples illustrate why using symbolic lights can be so effective as a nonviolent strategy. First, this method works on a powerfully emotional level. Lighting a candle or shining a light carries deep cultural resonance – it suggests life, hope, and perseverance. This emotional symbolism helps win public sympathy. Passersby or viewers on television intuitively understand a scene of candles held aloft as a call for peace or a tribute to lost lives. It’s hard not to be moved by such an image.

Oppressive authorities also recognize this moral weight: a crackdown on a silent candlelight vigil can appear blatantly cruel, risking backlash. In many cases, the gentleness of a candlelit protest disarms the opponent’s propaganda. For example, during the East German “Monday demonstrations,” communist officials could not label the candle-carrying crowds as rioters without losing credibility. The protesters literally held the higher ground by embodying peace.

Another reason light protests are effective is their visibility and simplicity. They create arresting visuals that quickly become iconic. A photograph of South Korea’s masses of candles, or of vigil-keepers in Hong Kong, communicates unity and determination more succinctly than any slogan. This helps the cause gain media coverage and international support. Indeed, the 2016 Seoul candlelight rallies were widely reported around the globe as a model of peaceful, democratic expression, bolstering the protesters’ legitimacy.

Symbolic lights also allow huge numbers of people to participate with minimal risk or training. Almost anyone can join a candlelight vigil – you don’t need to be loud or confrontational, just present. This inclusivity means protests based on vigils can grow rapidly. Families with children, religious groups in prayerful mourning, and older citizens on a quiet walk can all comfortably take part. The result is often a larger and more diverse coalition than a heated street march might attract.

In nonviolent struggle, numbers matter; a sea of candles held by ordinary people can signal that “the whole society” is backing a cause, not just a fringe group. From a strategic standpoint, activists use symbolic lights to maximize impact while minimizing provocation. Candles are cheap and readily available – sometimes organizers distribute them for free, or people bring their own.

Events are often timed in the evening or at night, when the symbolic effect (and the need for light) is greatest. The location can add meaning: vigils are held at sites of significance like national plazas, outside prisons or embassies, or even in front of homes, to cast light on injustice (both figuratively and literally).

Activists often coordinate the simultaneous lighting of candles or a moment of darkness followed by light to create a dramatic effect. For instance, during Earth Hour climate events, participants around the world turn off electric lights for an hour as a symbolic act – and then sometimes light candles – to draw attention to energy conservation, as reported by CNN. That deliberate contrast between darkness and candlelight can powerfully underscore a message (in Earth Hour’s case, the need to address climate change).

Furthermore, symbolic lights are adaptable to circumstances. When public gatherings are restricted, activists have turned to creative alternatives like placing candles in windows, lining streets with lanterns, or using cell phone screens. During the 2020 Belarus protests against a rigged election, for example, some residents in apartment blocks coordinated flashing their balcony lights and flashlights at a set time each evening as a form of decentralized protest when street demonstrations were dangerous. Such tactics carry the same spirit of resistance in a safer format.

In the digital age, we even see virtual candle protests: activists flood social media with candle emojis or images to show solidarity. In South Korea’s recent online campaigns, young people use the 🕯️ emoji and custom “candlelight” graphics to demand political change from home. This shows how the symbolism of light remains effective even when translated into the digital realm – the meaning (hope, unity, peaceful protest) is instantly recognized and hard to censor.

For activists planning to use symbolic lights, a few practical insights can enhance the impact. Organization and communication are key: let people know when and where to gather, and if possible, distribute candles, lanterns, or coordinate a specific lighting gesture (like everyone lighting their candle at the same moment).

It also helps to tie the light to a narrative – for instance, “candles for martyrs,” “lights for liberty,” or “vigil for climate justice” – so that the purpose of the illumination is clear. In many successful cases, protesters have combined the lights with chants, songs, or moments of silence to deepen the emotional resonance (singing together under candlelight can be very unifying).

Visual coordination, like arranging candles to spell out a message or having everyone raise their lights simultaneously, can create unforgettable images. Activists should also be mindful of safety: using candles in large crowds requires precautions against fire hazards (today many use LED candles or phone lights as safer alternatives when needed). Despite such practical details, the threshold to participate remains low, which is a great strength of this method.

Finally, it’s important to remember that symbolic acts alone work best as part of a broader strategy. Gene Sharp emphasized that choosing the right methods and applying them skillfully can greatly improve a movement’s chances, as noted by Brandeis University.

Candlelight vigils often succeed when they are sustained or combined with other tactics – for example, accompanying peaceful vigils with petitions, educational campaigns, or strikes to put additional pressure on authorities. The South Korean protesters maintained their candlelight gatherings weekly for months, creating momentum and sustaining media interest until their demands were met.

In essence, symbolic lights galvanize public support and maintain morale while other political and legal processes play out. They remind everyone – including the protestors themselves – of the higher values guiding the struggle. This psychological boost can be crucial in long campaigns.

Modern Relevance of Symbolic Lights

Far from being a relic of the past, the use of symbolic lights in protests is very much alive and evolving today. In an era of digital activism and global movements, lights continue to serve as a universal language of protest. We see it in street demonstrations, online campaigns, and even climate and human rights advocacy.

One clear example is how digital culture has embraced candle imagery. As mentioned, South Korean activists are sharing candle emojis on social media to signal dissent in real-time. In late 2023 and 2024, amid political turmoil in Korea, young protesters who couldn’t attend physical rallies started an “online candlelight” movement – updating their profile pictures with candle icons and posting illustrations of candle-bearing crowds. This trend underscores that even in virtual spaces, people turn to the candle as a symbol of peaceful resistance. The candle emoji has effectively become a shorthand for “I stand with the protest.”

We’ve seen similar uses globally: after tragic events or in human rights campaigns, social media will often fill with candle emojis and images as a gesture of solidarity (for instance, users worldwide lit virtual candles online after the 2022 invasion of Ukraine and other humanitarian crises). Digital activists also organize virtual vigils – coordinated times when people livestream themselves lighting candles at home, creating a collective experience even when physically apart.

Symbolic illumination is also a mainstay in climate change and environmental protests. One of the largest coordinated acts of symbolic light (or rather darkness) is Earth Hour, a yearly event started in 2007 by the World Wildlife Fund. During Earth Hour, millions of people across over 190 countries turn off their lights for one hour, typically at 8:30 pm local time, as a call for action on climate change, according to Earth Hour.

Skyscrapers and iconic landmarks go dark – a reverse form of symbolic lights, where the deliberate darkness itself sends a message. This “hour of darkness” is explicitly described as a “symbolic” gesture to raise awareness about the climate crisis. In many cities, ordinary people gather with candles during that hour, holding candlelit climate vigils to reflect on reducing carbon emissions.

The impact is largely awareness-focused, but it’s huge: images of darkened city skylines and candle-carrying citizens often trend worldwide, sparking conversations about sustainability. The success of Earth Hour shows the adaptability of the symbolic light concept – even turning off electric lights can become a collective act of protest when framed correctly.

Human rights campaigns continue to rely on candlelight as well. Amnesty International, as noted, literally built its identity around a candle symbol (inspired by the saying “Better to light a candle than curse the darkness”). Amnesty and similar groups frequently organize candlelight vigils for prisoners of conscience or victims of abuses.

For example, during global Human Rights Day events, activists might hold evening vigils in front of embassies, each person holding a candle and a photo of a political prisoner, to demand their release. Such actions have a moral clarity – the candle represents the light of conscience that no prison cell can fully extinguish.

A recent instance of lights in human rights protest was the “Lights for Liberty” vigils in the United States on July 12, 2019, where thousands of people in cities nationwide held candlelight gatherings to protest the detention of migrants and conditions in immigration detention camps, as reported by The Spokesman-Review.

From New York to Los Angeles, protesters lit candles and flashlights outside detention centers and public squares, chanting that children and families should not be kept in cages. The phrase “lights for liberty” itself conveyed the purpose: using the simple act of lighting a candle to demand freedom and humane treatment.

Organizers chose candlelight because it unified diverse groups in a solemn, respectful way and invited broad participation. The events were peaceful yet forceful in message, drawing significant media coverage and putting public pressure on policymakers.

In today’s protest movements, we also see new technological twists on light displays. Activist groups now use projectors and lasers to cast light messages onto buildings – a tactic sometimes called “guerrilla projection.” For instance, climate activists have projected giant slogans like “No Planet B” or images of melting clocks onto government buildings at night.

This is a direct descendant of the symbolic lights idea: instead of individual candles, it’s a powerful beam of light being used to literally illuminate a facade with a protest message. The appeal of such light projections has grown as equipment becomes affordable and portable. Activists find it effective because it can convey a big message quickly, effectively, and cheaply without permanent damage, according to Reuters.

In Washington D.C., advocacy groups have shone messages like “Discrimination is wrong” in huge letters across the walls of the U.S. Capitol building. In Europe, protesters have illuminated nuclear power plants and coal factories with projections of skulls or warning signs to dramatize their environmental dangers.

These high-tech light displays serve as modern “torches” of dissent, catching public attention in ways traditional hand-held candles might not. They also highlight an interesting boundary between legality and protest – some cities have debated whether unwanted light projections count as trespassing, showing that even light can challenge authority in novel ways. Nonetheless, many activists continue to use them, seeing it as a nonviolent, creative way to “shine a light” on issues – quite literally.

Lastly, illuminated buildings and landmarks have become a common form of symbolic lighting in solidarity with various causes. While often organized by local governments or institutions rather than protesters, these gestures are part of the same continuum.

We frequently see, for example, the Eiffel Tower lit in the colors of a nation’s flag after a tragedy, or city halls bathed in rainbow lights during Pride month to support LGBTQ+ rights. When the Empire State Building in New York or the Sydney Opera House in Australia is lit with a particular color scheme, it is essentially a giant symbolic signal – a way of saying something with light.

Activists sometimes lobby for these light-ups or coordinate unofficial ones. In one case, activists in England projected a giant Syrian flag and the message “Save Aleppo” onto the Houses of Parliament to urge action during the Syrian civil war. In another, human rights groups lit up buildings with the slogan “Bring Back Our Girls” to draw attention to the abducted schoolgirls in Nigeria.

Even though these examples straddle the line between official commemoration and grassroots protest, they reinforce the idea that light as language is widely understood. In the modern world, where an image can ricochet around social media in minutes, the sight of a famous skyline glowing in solidarity can have a real galvanizing effect on public awareness.

In summary, symbolic lights remain highly relevant in contemporary activism. Whether through a humble candle, an LED smartphone screen, or a high-powered projector, activists continue to leverage light to capture hearts and minds. The contexts may have evolved – from town squares to Twitter feeds – but the core principle is unchanged: illuminate what is dark, and you illuminate the truth. As long as injustices persist, people will find ways to raise a light, literally or metaphorically, as a form of nonviolent resistance.