A Holiday Tribute To Loved Ones Lost

Dec 2

Thank you for joining me today during the 2024 Holiday Season.

How’s it going so far? Feeling good? Feeling sad, feeling what?

The holidays are a trick bag of happy, sorrow, overwhelmed and a whole host of emotions.

Certainly, we appreciate the purpose of the holidays and hopefully we are celebrating with people we love and adore. Family, besties, friends, distant relatives, coworkers, business associates – our pets?

What about those of us who love the reason for the season - but in that mix we have lost loved ones and pets we deeply cared for.

Herein lies this week’s topic:

Loved ones lost and remembered.

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It’s starting to happen; people and pets I absolutely love and adore are passing away. Because I love with all my heart, the void of these lost loved ones becomes prevalent during the holidays.

Maybe you have experienced this, losing a loved one?

One way we can move from sorrow to joy is to keep our loved one's memory alive.

We miss the essence, energy and personality of our loved ones whom we adored so let us remember them with tangible and positive actions.

As a Greek Orthodox Christian, I am so grateful for the ancient tradition of Memorial Service.

Or Μνημόσυνο- Mnimosyno

The Memorial Service is a blessing for the departed souls from this life unto the next.

The short service is conducted forty days, 3 months, 6 months and 1 year after the passing of the individual.

Furthermore, we the living family members prepare certain foods to accompany the service:

Koliva- a boiled wheat with various ingredients which symbolize eternal life

Prosphera- this is a small round leavened bread with the stamp of Jesus Christ. Family members make this to use when reading the names of the departed members of the family, along with names of the living family members.

This Memorial Service is a tradition which we keep as a way to give back to our deceased loved one with prayers for their soul while at the same time comforting the living.

Finally, we say

“Αιώνια Μνήμη- Aionia Mnimi …Memory eternal.”

Truly, the memory of someone can inspire us, encourage us and lift our spirits with this action of remembrance.

You could adopt this process of Memory Eternal by simply saying your own prayers or repeating words of gratitude for the person you have lost.

There are other ways to keep your loved one’s memory alive —

Light a vigil candle and place next to the person’s photo
Plan and host an event in the name of your loved one
Refer back to pictures, books and letters written by them to you
You can write your loved one a letter to express your feelings
Scatter loved one’s personal treasures around your living space
During the holidays, do something special in remembrance of your lovee.

It’s up to you on what you want to do, but make it your own MEMORY ETERNAL.

This holiday season, my beloved parents Tasso and Katina are in my heart and in my prayers. Bless you Dad and Manoula for bringing me into this world and being a beacon of light in my life.

I’m thinking of my black lab Athena who I walked every day for 13.5 years; she kept me company each morning and every night. There will never be another like you Athena. I miss you so much.

The best way to say how I feel to my loved ones, is to say:

“I love you always and forever.

May your memory be eternal and I’ll see you another time.”

Ola Kala, All is Well-

Kiki