Annie's Mailbox

Dear Annie: When a child dies, the world stops for that family, and the holidays become a time of painful remembrance rather than a time of celebration. The 14th Compassionate Friends Worldwide Candle Lighting on December 12 marks a day where families around the globe light candles in remembrance of all children who have died, regardless of age, cause of death or ethnic origin. The Worldwide Candle Lighting has grown from a small Internet remembrance into what may be the world's largest mass candle lighting, with hundreds of formal services open to the public and tens of thousands of candles being lighted in homes with friends and family.

The Compassionate Friends self-help support organization for families grieving the death of a child invites everyone to join in this day of remembrance by lighting a candle at 7 p.m. local time for one hour or by participating in one of the many services being held. A Remembrance Book will be open throughout the day on TCF's national website to post memorial messages. Last year, those messages totaled in the thousands.

To learn more and to view information on services being held around the globe, please visit our national website at compassionatefriends.org or The Compassionate Friends/USA Facebook page, or call 1-877-969-0010.

Thank you, Annie, for helping The Compassionate Friends to spread the word about this day, which is reserved for our children who are loved, missed and always remembered. This day is set aside so that "their light may always shine!" -- Patricia Loder, Executive Director, The Compassionate Friends/USA