A female tourist was terrified and praying that her plane would not crash as staff passed out candles to passengers shortly before the turbulence arrived.
Jula Wadini of Poland was traveling on a 50-minute flight from Bogota to San Jose del Guaviare, Colombia, on Saturday, December 17, when a flight attendant woke her up and handed her a small, white, electronic candle.
The staff member did not give any explanation to Vadini or the others on the plane, just walking around and distributing candles to all the passengers on board the plane.
“I was so confused,” Vadini, 27, said in a recent video documenting the flight on TikTok.
The UK-based Polish digital content creator started filming candles for a TikTok video as a joke.
“Are we dying?” He raised the question in the video, which has been viewed more than 22,000 times.
But things took a turn for the worst when unrest occurred.
“The seatbelt sign came on and the pilot started giving safety instructions in Spanish,” Vadini told news.com.au.
Unable to translate the instructions, the 27-year-old solo passenger began to “panic” that the plane was going down, and began “overanalyzing all the noises”.
“I thought the candle was given to us for good luck and to pray because we would probably crash.”
“I started praying!”
Ultimately, despite the rough landing, the plane managed to land safely in San José del Guaviare.
It was only after Vadini posted the video on TikTok that she came to know the real meaning behind the candle.
“I later realized I was the only one on the flight who didn’t know about this candle tradition on December 7,” she told news.com.au.
“The candle was not for us to pray before the accident, but to make a wish. Obviously, I was completely unaware of this.”
In Colombia, Little Candles Day or Immaculate Conception Eve is celebrated on December 7 – a widely held religious holiday that commemorates the Immaculate Conception of Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary the following day.
During the night of 7 December, lanterns and colorful candles are lit on the streets and outside homes to express wishes for the well-being of loved ones.
“(It) turns out it’s a Colombian tradition on December 7th,” Vadini shared with her followers on Instagram.
“One candle = one wish! How healthy.”
