May Their Light Always Shine
-
Children we remember
Though missing from our sight
In honor and remembrance
We light candles in the night...
We will not forget
And every year in deep December
On Earth we will light candles
As we remember
Jacqueline Brown
Every year since 1997 on the second Sunday in December The Compassionate Friends (TCF) hold a Worldwide Candle Lighting in memory of all children who have died too soon.
The event is held at 7:00 p.m. for one hour in every time zone to create a 24-hour wave of light that encircles the globe to honor and remember all children who have died. As candles go out in one time zone, they are lit in the next zone, to create a virtual 24-hour memorial--candles to encircle the globe.
The Worldwide Candle Lighting is a way of giving bereaved families around the world the chance to share their loss and remember their child...so that their light may always shine!
This year the event is being held on December 10, 2006.
More about the Event
On this second Sunday in December hundreds of community candle lighting ceremonies are held in parks, churches and other public places by The Compassionate Friens chapters and other groups. Thousands more are held informally at home or other special places of remembrance.
The Worldwide Candle Lighting is thought to be the largest mass candle lighting in the world. The event started in 1997 in the United States as a small Internet observance, but over the last ten years has grown in size and spread around the globe as a way to commemorate and honor children in an event that transcends all ethnic, cultural, religious, and political boundaries.
A memorial message board is available on The Compassionate Friends Website, http://www.compassionatefriends.org, during the event. People from all over the United States and other participating countries can post messages and share their remembrances of children who have died, but are not forgotten.
Listings of the known planned observances and guidelines for planning and holding your own Worldwide Candle Lighting are available on The Compassionate Friends Website.
More Information about the Candle Lighting
- General Information Page - http://www.compassionatefriends.org/2006_WCL/2006_WCL_Intro.htm
- FAQ’s about the Event - http://www.compassionatefriends.org/2006_WCL/FAQ_WWCL.htm
- Guidelines for Holding Your Own Worldwide Candle Lighting - http://www.compassionatefriends.org/2006_WCL/MemorialServiceGuidelines.pdf
About The Compassionate Friends
The Compassionate Friends is a national nonprofit, self-help support organization that offers friendship, understanding, and hope to bereaved parents, grandparents and siblings. Their mission is to assist families toward the positive resolution of grief following the death of a child of any age and to provide information to help others be supportive. There is no religious affiliation and there are no membership dues or fees.
The Compassionate Friends works on the premise that as seasoned grievers reach out to the newly bereaved, energy that has been directed inward begins to flow outward and both are helped to heal.
