Christmas Memorial Ornament

Photo by Waterdragonfly

I love Christmas lights display, when I first saw Christmas trees inside people’s home; it was somewhat shocking to me. I came to the US during this time of the year, December 8^th to be exacted, and our sponsor, the Chinese Christian Church came to pick us up at JFK Airport, took us in the church van and drove us through the lighted streets in Brooklyn, as I watched in amazement that people actually placed lighted trees inside their home, I thought this was the normal practice, never realized at the time that it was just during Christmas season. For someone who came from a tropical forest Laos, I adjusted well to my new home of the concrete jungle of NYC.

Christmas season marked a new beginning for our family; I knew how much my mom loved Christmas lights. It was during this time, last year that she wanted to go outside to see the Christmas lights display in her neighborhood, but it was too cold and she was too ill to be able to sit in a moving vehicle. Even though she didn’t get to see the Christmas lights, but she knew how beautiful the night scenery was during this time of the year because we drove around in the past just to see the Christmas lights display.

As for those that loss their loved ones, any holiday season can be depressing, this I know too well. I was glad to receive a letter from the Funeral Home that served our family, I was pleased with them during the time of my mom’s funeral service as they clearly respected our tradition, but this is something beyond what we were expecting, the letter read:

“As this most special time of the year approaches, we have been thinking about you and your family and the other families we have served this year during the loss of loved ones. You are in our thoughts and prayers, because we know the holiday season can be a lonely time during your period of bereavement. To let you know that we care and understand, we have erected a Christmas tree at each of our funeral homes as a memorial to the loved ones who have left their families this year.”

My dad, sisters, and I went by to see the Christmas tree today; this was the first time I’ve been back since I picked up my mom’s ashes back in January. A lady that works there greeted us; she remembered our family.

This was the last day for the families to pick up the ornaments of their loss loved ones, surprisingly the Christmas tree still looked full with hand-painted ornaments with names on them, and there was one for my mom for us to take home. I think most people are busy during this time of the year, but surely the memory of their loss loved ones are still in their heart.

I don’t normally give gifts to my sisters, but this year I purchased additional hand painted ornaments with my mom’s name on one side, and in back have the year 2007 for my sisters. As for those that loss their loved ones, no matter how long time has passed, we still miss them dearly.