From Woman's World · Ashley Lynch · · 1m
Holidays Without a Loved One
How to keep holiday traditions alive after losing a loved one.
In brief
How to keep holiday traditions alive after losing a loved one. Grief experts suggest adapting traditions to honor a lost loved one without disrupting holiday celebrations. Originally reported by Woman's World.
First December Without a Parent
The first December without your parent can make every string of lights feel like a question.
Grief Changes Holiday Feelings
Grief doesn’t follow a calendar, and no two people in a family will feel this December the same way.
Grief Expert on Personal Grief
Kenneth J. Doka, PhD, grief expert and senior bereavement consultant for the Hospice Foundation of America, says grief is deeply personal.
“Grief is deeply personal. There is neither one right way to feel nor one correct way to grieve.”
Keep Traditions Without Starting Over
You don’t have to recreate the holiday your parent built, and you don’t have to throw it out.
Meaningful Ways to Honor
Remembrance doesn’t have to be elaborate. Display meaningful decorations, share memories, and do things your parent loved.
Help Children Remember
Let children help decide which activities to keep and which to change.
The bottom line
Grief experts suggest adapting traditions to honor a lost loved one without disrupting holiday celebrations.
