Wherever you happen to be at 7pm on
the second Sunday in December, light a candle in memory of your
child, and ALL children, brothers and sisters who have died.
Candles will be lit at 7pm in every
time zone , creating a wave of light that will encircle the globe.
As the candles burn down in one time zone, it is passed on to the
next time zone, creating a 24 hour memorial to our children.
Held annually the second Sunday
in December, The Compassionate Friends Worldwide Candle Lighting
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, hundreds of
thousands of persons commemorate and honor children in a way that
transcends all ethnic, cultural, religious, and political
boundaries.
Believed to be the largest mass candle lighting on the globe, the
Worldwide Candle Lighting 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 are no longer with them.
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. A memorial
message board is available during the event at the TCF USA Web site,
www.compassionatefriends.org and hundreds upon hundreds of postings
are received each year from all over the United States, as well as
dozens of other countries. Some messages are in foreign languages.
In the United States, publicity about the event is widespread, being
featured in the past in Parade Magazine, Ann Landers column,
Guideposts magazine, Annie’s Mailbox, and literally hundreds of U.S.
newspapers, dozens of television stations, and numerous Web sites.
Information on the Worldwide Candle Lighting and planned memorial
candle lighting services is posted on the TCF Web site at
www.compassionatefriends.org each year as the event nears.
The United States Senate has, for several years, joined in the
remembrance by unanimously passing resolutions declaring the second
Sunday in December of each year National Children’s Memorial Day to
coincide with The Compassionate Friends Worldwide Candle Lighting.
The Worldwide Candle Lighting gives bereaved families everywhere the
opportunity to remember their child . . . that their light may
always shine!
International Compassionate
Friends Day
January
28th
“Many chapters of our organization throughout the world have
expressed the wish that once a year,
a day should be set aside when The Compassionate Friends is mindful
not only of its worldwide family,
but of the children whose names we honour.
To this end our Birthday, January 28th has been designated
“Compassionate Friends Day”
"And every member of our very large international family
is asked to burn a large white candle
to symbolize both the child loved
and the hope and the light
which The Compassionate Friends brings to
bereaved parents lost in the darkness of grief."
“It is the gift of HOPE which
reigns supreme
in the attributes of The Compassionate Friends.
HOPE that all is not lost,
HOPE that life can still be
worth
living and meaningful,
HOPE that the pain of loss will
become less acute,
and above all else,
The HOPE that we do not walk
alone,
and that we are understood.
The gift of HOPE is the greatest
gift
that we can give those who mourn.”
Rev. Simon Stephens
Founder of The Compassionate Friends
©
2002
Compassionate Friends of SWMB