Meaningful Remembrance Ideas for Holiday Grief

How to Remember a Loved One at the Holidays

By Nancy Copeland-Payton

As family and friends gather to celebrate the holidays and music of the season surrounds us, our longing for a loved one who has died or for the shared times that have passed may intensify. Our culture encourages us to hurry through remembering and grieving a loved one, particularly during seasons of celebration. But this rush minimizes the gift of their life and the depth of our loss.

This holiday season, gift yourself with time set aside to intentionally remember and celebrate your loved one. Choose one or more of the following remembrances to observe alone or to share with others who also loved the one you lost.

Nancy Copeland-Payton is the author of The Losses of Our Lives: The Sacred Gifts of Renewal in Everyday Loss (SkyLight Paths Publishing).