Year after year, most of us experience holidays and public holidays as a pleasant holiday in our daily lives. We try to calm down, take more time for family and friends, give ourselves a mental break from the many questions that demand our attention in personal and professional life.
The holidays have always been a challenge for mourners. Anyone who comes to terms with the loss of a loved one often feels out of place at the sight of the usual hustle and bustle. In particular, the first party without someone close, perhaps without the closest person, is an emotional burden for many mourners. The pandemic, with sometimes severe restrictions in recent months, makes the rest work.
rest and healing
“The question of whether the loss would have felt different without this extraordinary situation will haunt many mourners for a long time to come,” says Stefan Neuser, general secretary of the Federal Association of German Undertakers. “Especially during the holidays, family and friends should take the time to help those who are grieving through their pain. It can certainly look very different. It is important to talk openly about what is good for the individual, and to create a space in which grief can be seen as a form of comfort and healing as well.”
personal grief
For Dr. Simon J. Walter, cultural representative of the German Funeral Culture Foundation, individual forms and pathways of mourning are decisive: “Each person’s grief looks different, it needs its own time and space. Especially exceptional social status. In the present we are in, public holidays and holidays provide an opportunity to take a mental step back and pause. What is good for me in my grief? How can I help others in their grief? And how can I help that? How can I compensate for the farewell that has been denied to me by the pandemic in my own way – or with my neighbor on such a path?”
You can answer these questions yourself. Especially now, in the days of commemoration in autumn, we feel that dying and saying goodbye is part of life – and that everyone has the right to a personal farewell. ex-o
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