Year after year, most of us experience holidays and public holidays as fun breaks in our daily lives. We try to calm down, take more time for family and friends, and allow ourselves a mental break from the many questions that demand our attention in private and professional life.
Holidays have always been a challenge for mourners. Anyone coming to terms with the loss of a loved one often feels out of place in the usual hustle and bustle and given the general anticipation. In particular, the first party without someone nearby, perhaps without the closest one, is an emotional burden on many mourners. The pandemic, with its sometimes severe restrictions in recent months, does the rest.
rest and recovery
“The question of whether a loss would have looked different without this exceptional situation will preoccupy many mourners for a long time to come,” says Stefan Neuzer, General Secretary of the Federal Union of German Contractors. “Especially during the holidays, family and friends should make time to help those grieving their pain. This of course can sound very different. It is important to speak openly about what is good for the individual and create spaces where grief can be seen as comforting and healing.”
Single type of sadness
For Dr. Simon C. Walter, the cultural representative of the German Funeral Culture Foundation, considers individual forms and paths of mourning crucial: “Mourning looks to everyone different and needs their time and place. Especially in the exceptional social situation we are currently in, public holidays and days off provide the opportunity for mental retreat and pause. What is good? How can I help others in their grief? And how can I make up the farewell that the epidemic has denied me in my own way – or accompany my neighbor on this path?”
You can only give the answers to these questions yourself. Especially now, during the festive days of fall, we feel that dying and saying goodbye are part of life – and that everyone has a right to a personal goodbye. akz-o
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