Candlelight Remembrance Ceremony · Springfield Angel of Hope

December 6 · 7 p.m. · Rain or shine

At the Angel of Hope statue, inside Washington Park Botanical Garden.

Springfield's Candlelight Remembrance Ceremony has been held without fail every December 6 at 7 p.m. since 2008 — the year the statue was dedicated. There is no admission and no registration. The ceremony goes on through cold, rain, or snow; in seventeen years it has never been called off.

What to expect

A short, plain ceremony at dusk.

Families and friends begin arriving in the early evening, often straight from work, sometimes with children in tow. We gather around the statue and the Memorial Wall, where more than 1,000 names of area children — lost to miscarriage, stillbirth, or infant and childhood death — are engraved.

A small candle is placed in each visitor's hands. Names are read aloud, one after another, never hurried. A short reading or piece of music is offered as people gather and as the candles are lit. The full ceremony runs about thirty to forty-five minutes.

It is held outdoors and continues through rain, snow, or cold. We have stood through all of those together since 2008, and the same handful of families have come back year after year.

December 6 falls in one of the darkest weeks of the year. We chose it deliberately. Candlelight matters most when the evenings are longest — and one small flame, lit by many hands at the same hour, makes its own kind of daylight.

— Springfield Angel of Hope

Practical notes

What to bring.

01

A warm coat

The ceremony is held outside at the statue. Springfield Decembers are cold — gloves, a hat, and warm layers are worth bringing.

02

A photo or token, if you wish

Some families bring a small photograph or memento to hold during the reading of names. There is no expectation; many come empty-handed.

03

Yourself

A candle is provided. No registration is needed, and there is no fee. All who wish to remember a child — yours or anyone else's — are welcome.

If you cannot be with us in person

Light a candle wherever you are, at 7 p.m. Central.

The Springfield ceremony is part of a national network of nearly one hundred Angel of Hope statues, many of which hold their own gatherings on December 6. If you cannot make it to Washington Park, please join us in spirit — light a candle at home, at your kitchen table, at a child's grave, anywhere — at 7 p.m. Central. You will not be alone in doing so.

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