My dad died 3 years ago. I'm learning how to celebrate the holidays without him.
Losing a parent can make holiday decorations and rituals trigger intense grief; incorporating the parent's favorite things into new traditions helps preserve memory and cope.
There is no right way to navigate holiday grief; children grieve differently from adults and loving presence, flexibility, and emotional support help families through loss.
The Ghost of What Might Have Been: A Unique Type of Grief
Holiday grief often mixes loss and longing for what could have been, manifesting as nonlinear, individualized experiences shaped by seasonal expectations and social comparison.