Five Candles: Grief During the Holidays

We light these five candles in honor of our loved ones: One for our grief, one for our courage, one for our memories, one for our love, and one for our hope.

The first candle represents our grief. The pain of losing you is as intense as our love for you.

The second candle represents the courage to confront our sorrow, to comfort each other and to change our lives.

The third candle we light in your memory: the times we laughed, the times we cried, the times we were angry towards each other, the silly things you did, and the caring and joy you gave us.

The fourth candle we light for our love. As we enter the holiday season and share this day of remembrance, we light this candle that your light may always shine.

The fifth candle we light for hope: that you will live on through us, never be erased from our memory, that your life continues to make a difference in the world. That you are proud of us and that we will be together again. We love you, we remember you.

Five Candles adapted from the poem written by Sherry L. Williams