For 26 years, families have gathered around the world in quiet remembrance of children who have died and will never be forgotten.
The Compassionate Friends Worldwide Candle Lighting on the second Sunday in December unites family and friends around the globe in lighting candles for an hour to honour the memories of the sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, and grandchildren who left too soon. Now believed to be the largest mass candle lighting on the globe, the annual Worldwide Candle Lighting (WCL), a gift to the bereavement community from The Compassionate Friends, creates a virtual 24-hour wave of light as it moves from time zone to time zone, starting here.
Families celebrate with a quiet elegance, at 7pm local time, lighting candles for an hour to remember their child. Such a moving occasion bypasses all geographical, religious and cultural divides.
As everyone lights their candles, far-flung parts of the world get illuminated in turn, as their children are remembered. Some are public gatherings or families will remember at home.
What happens in Whanganui?
