A Light for My Path

The second Sunday in December is Worldwide Candle Lighting Day to honor the memory of children who have died. It started out specifically to commemorate children who died of cancer, but in 1997 The Compassionate Friends organization expanded it to include all children who left this world too soon. Families light a candle at 7:00 pm local time and keep it burning for an hour. As families do this around the globe it results in a virtual 24-hour wave of light as it moves from time zone to time zone. In the ensuing years, as the internet and social media have become ubiquitous, parents often post pictures of their child and their candle.

I first heard about this candle lighting ceremony in one of the bereaved parents’ groups I belong to. I’ve mentioned before that the group has over 11,000 members. That’s 11,000 parents grieving one or more lost children. Many, many of them post their candle picture on the group page. Most with no comment or caption other than their child’s name.

Because no one in the group needs to be told what the candle is all about.

It is heartbreaking to see the pictures – newborns who never took a breath, young children who fought a congenital disease, teenagers in the prime of health killed in an accident, young people who succumb to addiction or mental illness, adults who left behind their own children. Every single one with someone who misses them enough to light a candle, say their name, and try for at least an hour to keep their memory alive.

Rachel Elizabeth Slone Claasen 10/31/1986-4/11/2017

This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine

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Laura