We had candles in Guilin, but that may be because we oftentimes had black outs in my section of the city.

In Beijing, I only see the cheap type used on birthday cakes or the very expensive and overpriced ones at stores frequented by foreigners.

I believe they use them in the mines, to check for explosive gas.

men being romantic is just not done here

candles are needed when having sex with my wife

Copy and paste from Wikipedia: 

"The earliest known candles originated in China around 200 BC, and were made from whale fat. Candles did not appear in Europe or the Middle East until sometime after AD 400, due largely to the availability of olive oil for burning in lamps.[14] The early European candle was made from various forms of natural fat, tallow, and wax. In the 18th century, spermaceti, oil produced by the sperm whale, was used to produce a superior candle.[15] Late in the 18th century, colza oil and rapeseed oil came into use as much cheaper substitutes.

"Until of late years, candles were solely manufactured from bees' wax, spermaceti, or tallow. The application of scientific chemical research...all the best candles are now made from the pure solid and crystallizable margaric and stearic acids. These are freed from the fluid oleic acid, and from glycerine, which exist in combination with them in ordinary tallow, as well as from other analogous substances, as from paraffin (a carbo-hygroneous substance resembling spermaceti, prepared from tar and peat), the stearic and margaric acid in the cocoa-nut oil and the palm oil, besides the old substance spermaceti, and wax both vegetable and animal."—Candles, -Eighth edition, Encyclopedia Britannica, 1853

Paraffin was first distilled in 1830, and revolutionized candle-making, as it was an inexpensive material which produced a high-quality, odorless candle that burned reasonably cleanly. The industry was devastated soon after, however, by the distillation ofkerosene (confusingly also called paraffin oil or just paraffin). Recently resin based candles that are freestanding and transparent have been developed, with the claim that they burn longer than traditional paraffin candles. They are usually scented and oil based.

In the Middle Ages in Europe, tallow candles were the most common candle. By the 13th century, candle making had become a guild craft in England and France. The candle makers (chandlers) went from house to house making candles from the kitchen fats saved for that purpose, or made and sold their own candles from small candle shops.[16]"

I thought it could be of help to understand what what. Searching for some "trivial" object made me to actually find it very instructive. It may not directly answer your question, Scandinavian, but it adds info and it clears out some doubts, at least my doubts about the history of the candles. 

In the summer time they do to cool hot heads and washed behinds! 

I sat here thinking which would end the day of the candlelit mass

And then it occurred that the masses of people aren't actually holding

candles instead they are using cellphones.

Candles are fine I use them all the time

Who am I kidding I'm still using my night bright

during the night time!

My wife didn't use candles before she came to my home country and saw how cozy it is with candles in the rooms.

She told me she had been taught not to "play" with fire. That they use open fire to cook with in her home town is apparently irrelevant

From the talk with her candles didn't seem normal to use where she is from - Near Nanjing.

Chinese men don't like using candles - the size and thickness of the wick causes them serious face loss!