Created: 12/11/2008 9:57:26 PM 
JACKSONVILLE, FL -- Every year there are more lights on the Tree of Life than the year before. This time there are 53,000 lights on the Community Hospice of Northeast Florida's tree, and one is for Wally Holdstein's wife.
She recently lost her battle with cancer, and Holdstein put a ribbon on the Tree of Life with her name on it.
The lighting of the tree has been a Community Hospice tradition for eighteen years.
Each light represents a person Community Hospice has cared for in its 29-year history.
Roxanne Miller is a bereavement counselor and spends hours with the family members left behind.
She says, "Grief is hard enough, but then you throw in a meaningful holiday and it can be a lot harder."
Miller says people often struggle with death this time of year because this season is full of tradition. She says there is no reason you can't do something different, and still include your loved one.
"Some people hang the stocking of the deceased and write little messages about what the person meant to them and then open that up on Christmas Eve or Christmas morning."
Miller says each year it gets easier, but each year there will be more lights on the tree, and more people walking in Holdstein's shoes.
"I find myself asking if I'm as much support to them as other people were to me during this whole thing," said Holdstein. "Lean on friends, lean on family, and access what is out there available to you."
If you'd like to help or learn about Community Hospice of Northeast Florida, click here.
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