A roman candle is, as the name suggests a long candle shaped firework that you light via a fuse at the top. The thick paper tube contains a collection of charges and when you light it they all ignite separately and shoot individual, coloured sparks into the sky one at a time. More sophisticated roman candles will shoot lots of different coloured stars, whilst more standard versions will be just one colour- this doesn't make them any less spectacular, however they are a beautiful addition to any fireworks display! It's recommended that you stand at least 25 metres back when lighting Roman candles, and make sure that the fuse is dry when lighting.