Luminaria - How We Honor and Remember!
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Click here to learn about Luminarias Click here for a message from the Luminaria Chair
Luminaria - Luminary - Luminars - Candle Bags - Memory Lights
Whatever you call them, they are the visual representation of the most important
part of the Relay For Life on-site event. If you have never attended the
Luminaria Ceremony at an on-site Relay, please attend one this year. It is this
ceremony that is the basis of our connection to those we honor and remember.
Before the event, teams can sell white paper sacks - like lunch bags - for a donation of $10 each. You should buy a bag for anyone you wish to remember or honor that has survived cancer or who has fought hard and holds a special place in your heart. You will decorate the bag in any way that you wish - use pictures, ribbons, drawings, momentos, etc. Or you can just write the person's name on it.
Once on-site, you or your team or the team you purchased your bag from will place sand in the bottom and an unlit candle in the bag. It will be placed somewhere along the edge of the walking track. Around dusk, everyone will gather close to their bags as the Luminaria Ceremony begins.
During the ceremony, all of the lights are out. A speaker will deliver a meaningful message and there may be music. As the speaker instructs, the candles in the luminaria bags are lit around the track. There is usually a moment of silence or prayer as the entire crowd joins in the act of communal remembrance and honor.
There are many tears at the ceremony - tears of joy, tears of pain, tears of release, tears of community. But there are smiles, too. And nothing can beat the feeling of community and support at that moment. Through rain and cold and wind and sound issues and distractions, the support of those around you will touch you.
Please join us this year to support others and you may just find a community of supporters yourself.
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I have lost and seen so many family and friends diagnosed with cancer, and I am sure you have too. This year, why don’t we make a statement as we sell luminaria bags? At this year’s ceremony, that is often referred to as the “Ceremony of Hope,” we could put a face on our loved ones. That way, every one can see that you don’t want cancer to be the only thing remembered about that person.
This can be done when a person buys a luminaria bag. That would be the time to ask if they would like a picture of their loved one put on the bag. If they do, have them bring a photocopy (that will not be returned) to be glued on the bag with the name and if it is in honor or in memory. One picture is worth a thousand words!
This is why we do Relay for Life - to raise money for cancer research. You can help by volunteering at Relay. We need staff, new team captains, and corporate sponsors. We need it all if we are going to win the war on cancer.
Thank you
for your help,
Myrtle Kite
Myrtle is the Luminaria Chair for the Wilson site
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