A Recent Obsession

I can't quite pinpoint when it happened but some point before we entered into a new decade I have become obsessed with candles. Actually it is more specific than that, I have become obsessed with having a lit candle in my entry way.

Sorry this picture is a but dark but you get the idea. When I come home from work my routine is always the same: Shoes off, keys in dish, bag on bench, feed hungry kitties, light candle, collect mail. You could set you watch by it.  On weekends as soon as I leave my bedroom I light the hallway candle, and it will sometimes burn all day long.  For as long as I am in the house, there burns an eternal flame.

I have no reasonable explanation as to how those obsession began or where the need comes from but it's a part of my daily ritual. Do candles in the entry way ward off evil spirits? Do they cleanse the house of any negative energy?  Are there any sort of Feng Shui rules that apply to this?

My candles must not be of the floral scented variety. I am partial to savory or "festive" scents (i.e anything that smells like a Christmas tree). However I wonder if these scents will be appropriate once the warm weather actually decides to stick around. Should the candle be replaced with a vase full of fresh flowers. I am going to wait to see if the obsession is seasonal.

Wow I have become a woman who thinks about candles...what has become of me?