Hello-hello guys!!! Happy to be writing this second blog and sharing a bit about India and cucumbers.

Wait... India and cucumbers, huh? Let's take India first. 

As you may know, India is one of the largest countries in the world, the seventh by area, and the second most populated nation just after China.  It is considered the birthplace of Buddhism and Hinduism and home to one of the Seven Wonders of the World: The Taj Mahal.

I traveled to India back in 2014 and ever since then I have been quite in love with their culture so I want to share a bit of the Taj Mahal's history and then we'll get back to candles and stuff!! 😊

The Taj Mahal was constructed by Emperor Shad Jahan as a mausoleum after his third wife died during the birth of their fourteenth child – yes, I said FOURTEEN, uno-cuatro, can you imagine?! The construction of the mausoleum began in 1631 and ended in 1643, for the rest of the complex the construction was finished in 1653. That’s 22 years, around 22,000 laborers and 1,000 elephants to transport the construction material –  that is a lot! As it can be observed, the Taj Mahal was constructed entirely in a sophisticated and beautiful white marble brought in from all over India and Central Asia. It is adorned with semi-precious and precious stones and around the complex you can find passages from the Quran as a decorative element.

Did you know that depending on what time of the day it is and if there is a moon at night or not, the Taj can be perceived in different colors!!! How cool, right?!! 

Now, back to what this blog should be about… as I said, India is one of the largest countries in the world, as a result it has a great variety of seasons and geography, and it has a lot of spices and vegetables, reason why Indians traded so much through the Spice Road. Interestingly enough, India is considered to be the place where cucumbers originated over 3,000 years ago.  Although the cucumber is only known as a cultivated plant, there have been other specimens from the same family collected in the wild in areas of the Himalayas and from there it has spread across China, Africa, and Europe.  Cucumbers are now one of the most widely cultivated vegetables around the world! It is usually consumed raw, mostly in salads or soups, but it can be cooked as well. There is a traditional Indian dish made with cucumbers – Raita – which is a mix of yogurt, cucumber, seasoning, herbs and spices.

Now, what if I tell you that you can not only eat it, but you can also enjoy as a scent?!! Or maybe just do that glass of cucumber water in the morning, it supports healthy skin. Whatever you decide, make sure to go visit our Candle and Wax Melt Collections! 😊

PS: This is one of my personal favorites from our entire scents collection