For hundreds of years, lighting a candle has been a way to show respect for those that have died. This beautiful gesture shows that although someone may be gone from this world, their memory will endure, and the light of their flame will continue to inspire and guide others.
Worldwide Candle Lighting Day is a celebration of solidarity and memory. It’s a day on which people around the world gather to light candles for children who have died and to show that they will always be loved and never forgotten.
The candles are lit at the same time in every time zone, meaning that a consistent warm glow passes around the planet for a full 24-hour day.
Learn about Worldwide Candle Lighting Day
Worldwide Candle Lighting Day is a day where friends and family come together to remember children who have left this world too soon. There is no greater loss than that of a child, and this day brings together everyone who has experienced the heartbreak of losing a child. It is a day of understanding, support, and friendship. While it may be a sade day, it is also a day of hope, helping people to realize that there is still life after losing a child too soon.
As the name of the day indicates, everyone on this day comes together to light a candle. This is a symbol of life lost. Everyone lights their candles at 7.00 pm in their local time zone. This results in a beautiful wave of light, traveling around the globe from time zone to time zone. It is believed that this is the biggest mass candle lighting in the world. It had humble beginnings, starting as a very small observance, but now there are hundreds and hundreds of formal lighting events that take place, as well as thousands of informal ones.
History of Worldwide Candle Lighting Day
Worldwide Candle Lighting Day was a gift to the bereavement community from The Compassionate Friend. The Compassionate Friend’s Worldwide Candle Lighting Day started in the United States in 1997 as a small internet observance in honor of children who lived tragically short lives for any number of reasons, from sickness to accidents, to war, but has since spread throughout the world.
Nowadays, hundreds of formal candle lighting events are held in many different countries 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.
Many organizations join in to observe this holiday, some f which are local bereavement groups, churches, funeral homes, hospitals, hospices, children’s gardens, schools, cemeteries, and community centers, and remembrance services have ranged in size from just a few people to nearly a thousand over the years since the creation of this special day. All of this just goes to show how necessary it was to set this day aside for this purpose.
How to Celebrate World Candle Lighting Day
As mentioned before, this day is celebrated with a quiet elegance: at 7 p.m. local time, people light candles for one hour to remember their loved ones. It is a moving occasion that bypasses geographical and cultural divides. As everyone lights their candles at seven pm local time, far-flung parts of the world get illuminated in turn, so that eventually the light has moved all around the globe.
If you have experienced the loss of a child in your lifetime, this is a good moment to honor his or her memory by taking part in the candle lighting. You could also invite some close family members to spend this time with you and light their own candles for the late child.
This doesn’t only have to be a sad occasion, however. Children’s lives are mostly filled with fun and laughter, so reminiscing about all of the things the child you are honoring managed to enjoy before he or she passed may serve to lighten the atmosphere up a little bit.
Of course, nothing will ever make up for the loss of a child, but there is some solace to be taken in the fact that the child’s life was a good one, however short. No matter whether you’ll be lighting a candle at home or joining a gathering Worldwide Candle Lighting Day it is a way to show love and community.
You can take a look online to see if there are any events that are going on in your local area. If there are, this is something that you should be able to find online with ease. Simply do a quick search for events happening in your local area. If your community has a local Facebook group, you should also be able to find the information on here. If there are not any events going on in your area, why not be the person to organize one?
If you have not had the awful experience of losing a child, whether your own, a grandparent, a friend’s child, or anyone else, you can use this day to provide support for people that have. You may know someone who has lost a child. If not, you could show your support by providing friendly and caring messages to people who post their personal accounts of tragedy online. There are also charities that have been up to help parents cope with the loss of a child, and so you may decide to donate or fundraise for one of these charities. You can also volunteer your time.
Finally, it is always good to raise awareness about the event itself. You never know who may not have heard about Worldwide Candle Lighting Day, and this day could end up bringing some hope to a lot of people’s lives, so it’s good to spread the word. People may not feel as lonely when they get together with their community to embrace this act. You can post messages on social media with information about the day in general, as well as including any information about candle lighting events that are happening in your area.
