Holiday Traditions
With the Holidays fast approaching, I thought it would be good to talk about some of the new holiday traditions we have created in our families after the death of a loved one.
Brandon died in August of 1999, so I had to get through Halloween, his birthday (Nov. 25), Thanksgiving and Christmas. It was difficult, being so newly bereaved, to think about how I was going to survive the rest of the year. I knew the holidays would come whether I wanted them to or not. That Christmas, we decided to have everyone bring a candle that reminded them of Brandon in some way. My sister brought a bright yellow one because Brandon loved sunflowers, my dad brought a blue one because Brandon’s eyes were so blue, and I found one that smelled like orange because he always wanted to eat my orange sherbet. We lit the candles and shared what they meant to each of us. I felt that Brandon was with us that day and I was comforted with the memories each of us shared of him.
The old holiday traditions that we shared were forever changed. Although Brandon was physically gone I still wanted to include him somehow in the celebration. Creating some new traditions to include him was important to me, and it helped me to feel at peace with celebrating the holidays.
What new traditions have been created in your families?
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Any previous post can be read by viewing the Blog Archive below. Comments can be read by clicking on the "comments" button found at the bottom of each post.
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