How to Do a Junior Girl Scouts Candle Ceremony

Here is an original Junior Girl Scouts idea for a candle ceremony, complete with craft instructions, prices, and photos. You can adapt these ideas to your own Junior or Daisy Girl Scouts Candle Ceremony.

Our Girl Scout Troop was planning an end of the year meeting. We wanted to make it special, recapping the achievements of the past year and sending the girls off for the summer. We decided to have it at a local beach.

One of the components of the meeting (along with other fun beach events) would be a Candle Ceremony. There were several websites that detailed different candle ceremonies for Girl Scouts.

Many of them seemed tailored for more formal ceremonies, such as investiture or bridging. I explored different options online. Here are a few of my favorite ideas:

Girl Scout Promise and Law Candelighting Ceremony
This was seemed a little formal and was better suited to an interior room where the lights could be turned off.

There are several interesting candle ceremonies at the Crow River Service Unit website.

I also liked the Flame Ceremony. This one celebrates differences in people and was geared toward "Thinking Day", which showcases booths from different countries. Instructions can be found at gsleaders.org.

Investiture Ceremony (Welcome to Girl Scouts) requires three candles for the Girl Scout Promise.

I liked the Juliette Low (the founder of Girl Scouts) type candle ceremonies and decided to use one I found online, although altering the decorations that would go on the candles.

Here is Juliette (Daisy) Gordon Low's Candle Ceremony-Version 1.

This candle ceremony was suitable for the type of ceremony I was looking for.

The candle ceremony I chose to use at our end of the year beach party was a combination based on the Juliette Low Candle Ceremony plus the rededication candle ceremony.

Girl Scouts End of Year Candle Ceremony celebrating the Girl Scout Promise

#1 (Leader)
"Please form a tight circle. Today is a special day. We are here to celebrate the end of our Girl Scout year. We are also celebrating the end of school and the beginning of a fun summer. Next year, you will be attending a new school and facing new challenges. We are here today to rededicate each member, to the Girl Scout Promise and Law. You should all understand that these are the ideals by which Girl Scouts try to live."

#2 (Leader lights plain candle)
"With this flame, I give you each something very special to pass on. As I light the candle, I ask each of you to light the candle on your right and pass it on. I want you to carry this thought with you wherever you go this summer. This is the ETERNAL FLAME for Girl Scouts. Each of you, after having a lit candle before you, will repeat the Girl Scout Promise with me, then pause and recall a few of the things we have done together as a group."

#3 The Girl Scout Promise
The Girls Scout Promise is printed on a tag on each girl's candle. The Girl Scout Promise is copyrighted by the GSUSA and so is not reprinted here or on my photos.

#4 Girl scouts each take turns lighting their candles and saying a few words about what they did as a group.

#5 (Leader holds up candle)
I will hold my candle up, and you will all raise yours and we will blow them out together. Before we separate from our circle, I want to ask you to keep this candle as a very special flame. You may use it in other Girl Scout ceremonies, such as camps, encampments, campfire or bridging, or award ceremonies. I'm glad we were able to start a special tradition based on our ETERNAL FLAME.

Supplies List for Junior Girl Scouts Candle Ceremony:
3 boxes Emergency Candles (5" x 1") (6 candles in each box). Price at the Dollar Store: $3.00
1 spool green Satin Ribbon, 6 yards. Price at the Dollar Store: $1.00
Girl Scout Promise and Girl Scout Law printed on copy paper. I fit four of these on one sheet of paper.
Paper punch
Clear packing tape

Print out the Girl Scout Promise and Law and cut them out. Protect them with the clear packing tape. Fold them so that the Promise is on one side and the Law is on the other. You will have a 3" x 3" tag after punching a hole in one corner. Cut the satin ribbons at an angle for a prettier edge. I cut 12 pieces of ribbon, 10" long. Pull the ribbon through the hole and tie a knot at the corner. Then tie the ribbon around the candle and tie a knot.

Please see the photos and feel free to make changes or even use this as a Girl Scouts Craft meeting activity.