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The Compassionate Friends Worldwide Candle Lighting®, held annually the second Sunday in December, this year December 14, unites family and friends around the globe as they light candles for one hour to honor and remember children who have died at any age from any cause. As candles are lit at 7 p.m. local time, creating a virtual wave of light, hundreds of thousands of persons commemorate and honor the memories of children in a way that transcends all ethnic, cultural, religious, and political boundaries.
Now believed to be the largest mass candle lighting on the globe, the Worldwide Candle Lighting, a gift from TCF to the bereavement community, creates a virtual 24-hour wave of light as it moves from time zone to time zone. Hundreds of formal candle lighting events are held and thousands of informal candle lightings are conducted in homes as families gather in quiet remembrance of children who have died, but will never be forgotten.
The Worldwide Candle Lighting started in the United States in 1997 as a small Internet observance but has since swelled in numbers as word has spread throughout the world of the remembrance.
Happy holidays! I too feel the pinch of the holidays 2008, certainly a year to look back on. Had to cut back on expenses where I did not purchase any gifts though still feel way more fortunate than many, including the homeless in below freezing temperatures, let's not forget what we do have this holiday, such as family and friends.
OMG, no8fann, your Simple White Envelope post left me breathless! What an incredibly beautiful story about the real meanings of giving and family and Christmas.
I struggle daily with depression and fibromyalgia, as well as a number of great personal losses, but sometimes a meaningful story shared, or a smile from a stranger, or an act of kindness, will remind me of exactly how fortunate I am. Thanks for giving me a reason to remember how blessed I am today.
OMG, no8fann, your Simple White Envelope post left me breathless! What an incredibly beautiful story about the real meanings of giving and family and Christmas.
I struggle daily with depression and fibromyalgia, as well as a number of great personal losses, but sometimes a meaningful story shared, or a smile from a stranger, or an act of kindness, will remind me of exactly how fortunate I am. Thanks for giving me a reason to remember how blessed I am today.
Ditto on the fibro, as you already know and the depression~well, winter seems to take a toll on me and I often think I've got SAD. OR I just hate winter. I also know what you're saying about personal losses. Holidays are an awful reminder of that. SO, if you're feeling bummed, just post a Christmas pic on this thread to share with all of us.
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The Rushmore State, Oklahoma, and Weather
OMG, no8fann, your Simple White Envelope post left me breathless! What an incredibly beautiful story about the real meanings of giving and family and Christmas.
I struggle daily with depression and fibromyalgia, as well as a number of great personal losses, but sometimes a meaningful story shared, or a smile from a stranger, or an act of kindness, will remind me of exactly how fortunate I am. Thanks for giving me a reason to remember how blessed I am today.
You are more than welcome! I have to remind myself lately, sometimes daily, how fortunate I am, because there are times when I just don't feel like it. Sometimes, something comes along to put it all into focus for us!
Ditto on the fibro, as you already know and the depression~well, winter seems to take a toll on me and I often think I've got SAD. OR I just hate winter. I also know what you're saying about personal losses. Holidays are an awful reminder of that. SO, if you're feeling bummed, just post a Christmas pic on this thread to share with all of us.
It's winter in South Dakota
And the gentle breezes blow
Seventy miles an hour
At twenty-five below.
Oh, how I love South Dakota
When the snow's up to your butt
You take a breath of winter
And your nose gets frozen shut.
Yes, the weather here is wonderful
So I guess I'll hang around
I could never leave South Dakota
'Cause I'm frozen to the ground!
It's winter in South Dakota
And the gentle breezes blow
Seventy miles an hour
At twenty-five below.
Oh, how I love South Dakota
When the snow's up to your butt
You take a breath of winter
And your nose gets frozen shut.
Yes, the weather here is wonderful
So I guess I'll hang around
I could never leave South Dakota
'Cause I'm frozen to the ground!
It's late and it's been snowing hard for a little while, and that makes me think of one of my favorite parts of Christmas.
When I was a kid, I think the way I connected most deeply to winter and Christmas was through being outside at night, after a fresh snow, under a streetlight or a bright moon. The winter wind had a quality of a sigh and the light reflected off the new snow made it seem like there were diamonds in it. Just for that one moment, I could suspend disbelief and almost felt like I could grab those diamonds by the handful and keep them hidden away for some other time -- a hot Dakota summer afternoon, when I would get them out of their hiding place and they would whisper to me of a perfectly Silent Night, a Holy Night.
I've always loved diamonds, not for their worldly value, but because I guess I could always see that wintry cold peace in them. I always thought that this was my experience, and mine alone, and therefore part of what made me unique in the world. Like, as long as there were wintry diamonds in the snow, then my place in the world was "right", in alignment with a vast plan. Even now, it can bring tears of the sweetest joy to my eyes, to see the diamonds in the snow.
When I'm having a hard time sleeping at night, because I'm sad or scared or angry or just tense, I just take in a deep breath and sigh a wintry sigh, and surround myself in the perfection of the world, and how it gets expressed in the simplest natural things. Diamonds in the snow.
Welcome to City-Data.com forum! Make sure to register - it's free and very quick! You have to register before you can post and participate in our discussions with 700,000 other registered members. User profiles and some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your free account you will be able to customize many options, you will have the full access to over 15,000 posts/day about local topics and you will see fewer ads. 
I also know what you're saying about personal losses. Holidays are an awful reminder of that. SO, if you're feeling bummed, just post a Christmas pic on this thread to share with all of us. 
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