By Anonymous
December 5 2003--As part of The Compassionate Friends annual Worldwide Candle Lighting, U.S. service members stationed in Iraq are being given the opportunity to participate in a memorial service Sunday, December 14 on the grounds of the Presidential Palace in Baghdad.
The Compassionate Friends Worldwide Candle Lighting is believed to be the largest observance of its kind, focusing the world’s attention on the death of all children, no matter the cause, age, or national heritage. Held each year at 7 p.m. local time the second Sunday in December, the candle lighting starts at the International Date Line and moves west through each time zone, creating a virtual 24-hour wave of light.
No one knows how many service members stationed in Iraq have suffered the death of a child, sibling, or grandchild. But one who has experienced the devastation of losing a child is Denise Mix, a paralegal with the Navy stationed at the Presidential Palace, who requested the service. Her six year-old son, Ty Harvey, died from cancer July 21, 2001 while she was on reserve duty in San Diego.
She attended several support meetings of The Compassionate Friends and a Worldwide Candle Lighting memorial service before being deployed to Iraq, where she decided a Worldwide Candle Lighting service would be helpful for morale, as the holidays approach.
“The military is not immune from loss [within our families,” said Legalman First Class Mix. “I think this will help the people back home to understand the military is trying to make things as normal as possible for us over here.” Chaplain Frank E. Wismer III, who oversees Sunday services at the Presidential Palace, is planning the memorial service.
“I thought, here’s someone who lost a child. She is still a mother even though she doesn’t have a child anymore and needs a way to celebrate her child’s life and we can do that here and do it as a community,” said Chaplain Wismer, a colonel in the army reserves.
Plans for the service, which will be open to Iraqis working with the coalition provisional authority, include an opportunity to share a remembrance of the child, display pictures of the children, and the lighting of remembrance candles. The names of children being remembered by service personnel in Iraq who may be unable to attend the service will be read.
“We are glad that our servicemen in Iraq will have the opportunity to join us in this meaningful
remembrance of children who have died,” said Pat Loder, Executive Director of The
Compassionate Friends, USA. “Our thoughts remain with them as well as all others who have suffered the death of a child, sibling, or grandchild.”
In the United States and other countries, hundreds of formal candle lightings are planned, many of which are listed on The Compassionate Friends national Web site. There will be thousands of informal candle lightings held quietly in homes. Intended to coincide with the Worldwide Candle Lighting, the United States Senate passed resolution 196 proclaiming December 14, 2003 as National Children’s Memorial Day.
The Compassionate Friends, founded in 1969 in England, today has a presence in an estimated 29 countries around the world, making it the largest self-help bereavement organization in existence. In the United States nearly 600 chapters now serve bereaved families covering every state in the country, plus Puerto Rico.
For more information on The Compassionate Friends and on Worldwide Candle Lighting services in the United States, call toll-free 877-969-0010 or visit the national TCF Web site at www.compassionatefriends.org.
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By By Blake Kritzberg
By now, surely everyone's familiar with the unity candle, but did you know there are other unification ceremonies to choose from when planning your wedding?
Although the unity candle seems to have been with us forever, in reality it's only about ten years old. During those years, more "two-become-one" motifs have arrived to round out the theme.
Unification ceremonies are not only a symbol of togetherness, they're also flexible elements of a wedding. These ceremonies can be "opened up" to include important family members, such as the bridal couple's parents. Children from previous marriages can play a part, as can the entire congregation in a smaller wedding. Candle and rose ceremonies are common choices for adapting in this way.
Unification ceremonies can also be "stacked." It's not unusual to find a wedding that includes a hand and water ceremony, for example, or a wine and rose ceremony. Some couples play music during these ceremonies and others don't.
The timing of unification ceremonies varies by wedding, but they most often take place directly before or after the exchange of vows. These ceremonies may be especially important in non-religious weddings, which may end too quickly otherwise!
Let's look at some alternatives to the Unity Candle ceremony:
* Rose Ceremony * Hand Ceremony The groom then takes the bride's hands, palm side up. The officiant says, "They are the hands that will passionately love you and cherish you through the years, for a lifetime of happiness, as she promises her love and commitment to you all the days of her life."
* Knot Ceremony * Sand, Water and Wine Ceremonies A nice touch is to have the bride pour white wine while the groom pours red. You can then serve rosé at the reception to remind everyone of the ceremony.
* The Salt Covenant * The Foot-Washing Ceremony This short article hasn't covered all the unification ceremonies: there are bread-sharing ceremonies, circling ceremonies, broom jumping ceremonies, and probably more ceremonies that are being invented right now.
However, if you feel a unification ceremony might make your wedding more meaningful and personal, consider these alternatives. Don't forget that you can use more than one!
Blake Kritzberg is the proprietor of: Visit the site for easy, elegant, unusual, and affordable wedding favor ideas, wedding favor FAQ, and a free wedding screensaver. This article may be freely reprinted so long as this resource box and URL are preserved.
The rose ceremony is a flexible, informal ceremony especially suited to an interfaith or non-religious wedding, not to mention a garden wedding! In the rose ceremony, bride and groom exchange a single rose as their first married gift to each other. They are asked to recall this symbol of their love during the more trying seasons of marriage.
In the hand ceremony, the bride takes the groom's hands in hers, palms up. The officiant invites her to view his hands as a gift, and says: "These are the hands that will work along side yours, as together you build your future, as together you laugh and cry, and together you share your innermost secrets and dreams."
In the knot ceremony, the mothers of the bridal couple are given a cord, which the officiant later asks them to give to the bridal couple. The couple ties a lover's knot, which they may save to look back on later.
These are all mixing ceremonies suited to a Unitarian or interfaith wedding. The sand ceremony is said to arise from Apache customs, and is popular in beach weddings. In each case, the bride and groom pour sand or liquid from two separate vials into one. In the wine ceremony, they drink the mixed wine.
The salt covenant is an ancient tradition, well-described in the Bible, and appearing regularly in Indian-national and Jewish weddings. Like the Jewish Huppah, the salt covenant (a mixing ceremony with ancient connotations of loyalty, protection and hospitality) is beginning to show up in non-Jewish weddings as well.
The foot washing ceremony (not to be confused with the Scottish bridal foot-washing ceremony, a raucous pre-wedding event) is a fascinating, solemn custom emphasizing the role of dual servitude in a marriage.
http://www.just-wedding-favors.com
By Anonymous
Los Angeles, CA September 28, 2004 – Nomine Candles has created a unique line of aromatherapy pillars and botanical jars that not only promote a more healthful candle burning experience but offer a distinct European aesthetic that compliments any home.
Nomine Candles are made with 100% natural wax made with soybeans and botanical oils. They are free of petroleum byproducts, additives and synthetic fragrance. Nomine uses only 100% cotton wicks. Unlike paraffin, soy candles produce virtually no black soot to ruin walls and furnishings. Soy wax is American grown and a renewable resource. It cleans up easily with soap and warm water and is biodegradable.
Nomine Candles offers a healthy alternative to traditional synthetic fragrance by using only aromatherapy grade essential oil blends derived from the leaves, stems, flowers, bark, roots, or other elements of a plant. With an increasing number of people suffering from allergies and headaches due to synthetic fragrance, Nomine’s essential oil blends offer a more subtle and clean aroma. All Nomine Candles are hand-poured in small batches for quality assurance.
Nancy Covello, owner and candle maker, was motivated to create this all natural candle line from a personal commitment to alternative health therapies and a longstanding vegetarian lifestyle. Nancy comments on her motivation, “I was concerned when my walls became black with soot from paraffin candles. I immediately sought to find an alternative. However, many soy candle companies were producing products that aesthetically weren’t as pleasing to the eye as their paraffin counterparts. My goal with Nomine was to try and make a candle that had the best of both worlds, health and style.”
Inspired by the stories and pictures of her Italian ancestors, Nomine Candles evoke the scents, moods and the nostalgic images of the Italian countryside. Nomine (pronounced
Noh-mi-neh) simply means “name” in Latin and was chosen to celebrate the power of the meaning behind names.
CONTACT INFORMATION:
Nancy Covello
Nomine Candles
Phone 310-617-9986
www.nominesoycandles.com
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