This week Mexicans will be gathering to pray, remember and celebrate those who have died. There are so many ways that many cultures remember their loved ones after they've died. Celebrant Mel Lawson from Oberon, NSW is sharing a few with us...
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More Blog posts can be found in the Blog Categories to the right.
More Blog posts can be found in the Blog Categories to the right.
Nov
02
Oct
07
In 1990 the United Nations General Assembly voted to establish October 1st as the International Day of Older Persons. Celebrant Sonia Collins from Batemans Bay, NSW gives us a few ideas about celebrating the older people in our families and communities.
Sep
09
Our lives are constantly changing and evolving. This is inevitable. So why do we think that once we get married - that's it, we don't have to try to keep connecting with our partner? A marriage is a union of two separate people who will face personal challenges that may differ from their partners, so it's important that we continue to learn about each other....
Sep
26
It's Time! Spring equinox 23rd September 2017
It's officially spring....
the flowers are blooming...
new life is emerging....
It's officially spring....
the flowers are blooming...
new life is emerging....
Aug
23
Are you one of the many couples finding that you need to change your wedding plans because of the coronavirus? The reality of travel restrictions as well as those on ceremonies and wedding receptions means making some decisions. Luckily we have Celebrant and Chairperson of The Celebrants Network - Sonia Collins at the ready to give some suggestions...
Jul
03
Apr
29
Throughout people’s lives, there are many good times as well as challenges and hardships, and it is how we react, how and what we feel and think, and the choices we make that can impact our journey.
Jan
09
Are you one of those people who can never remember what you're meant to buy your husband or wife for your anniversary each year?
Is it paper?
Is it wood?
Which year do I give roses?
Here's a handy guide for you..... you're welcome!
Photo source: www.memorablegifts.com on Pinterest
Do you know what else a great idea to celebrate your anniversary?
Doing it all again.
Renewing your vows.
Reaffirming just how much you love each other
and maybe adding in some new vows.
Photo source: Abiruth.com on Pinterest
And while we're talking about great ideas - here's another one...
Talk to a TCN Celebrant who can create the perfect vow renewing ceremony for you.
Click here to read more about anniversary ceremonies
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Nov
29
If you think about it, there is always an element of formality to most events.
Normally you think of events like weddings, funerals and naming days, but there are way more events in our lives where we can add ceremony.
Ceremonial aspects of events shouldn’t be underestimated in importance. They include opening and closing speeches, music, playing of national anthems, the reciting of special words, presentation of awards and flowers, flag raising, present giving and blowing out of candles.
While it’s not absolutely necessary to add ceremony to your party or event, it does give it meaning and clarification.
A ceremony can add greatly to the emotion, symbolism and entertainment value of the event and whilst you're at it - why not make it a Party with a Purpose
One great way to make sure that your event has a beautiful and meaningful ceremony is to engage a TCN Celebrant. If fact, why not come together with family members or other guests and make your TCN Celebrant your gift.
So, how do you add ceremony to personal events? I’m glad you asked!
Birthday
We’re so used to having or going to birthday parties where you play games and eat as much sugar as you little body can handle. Then as grown ups the party turns into drinking as much as you can and buying a present that we didn’t put much thought into. So how are we actually celebrating the birthday person?
Ideas
What about a "This is your life" theme? Invite friends and family to share a story or express their feelings; create a book of memories that the guests have contributed to with photos and tales of the person you are honouring; ask all the guests to write an ode to the birthday girl/boy celebrating what they love about them. Work together with other guests to hire a celebrant to present an awesome ceremony that befits your friend.
Graduation
This is such a transitional time in a person’s life. They have just worked through 6 or 12 or 16+ years of study to be where they are now standing with certificate/diploma/degree/PhD in hand. Each step of the way should be celebrated for the hard slog already done and to help motivate for the next steps ahead.
Ideas
Normally you think of events like weddings, funerals and naming days, but there are way more events in our lives where we can add ceremony.
Ceremonial aspects of events shouldn’t be underestimated in importance. They include opening and closing speeches, music, playing of national anthems, the reciting of special words, presentation of awards and flowers, flag raising, present giving and blowing out of candles.
While it’s not absolutely necessary to add ceremony to your party or event, it does give it meaning and clarification.
A ceremony can add greatly to the emotion, symbolism and entertainment value of the event and whilst you're at it - why not make it a Party with a Purpose
One great way to make sure that your event has a beautiful and meaningful ceremony is to engage a TCN Celebrant. If fact, why not come together with family members or other guests and make your TCN Celebrant your gift.
So, how do you add ceremony to personal events? I’m glad you asked!
Birthday
We’re so used to having or going to birthday parties where you play games and eat as much sugar as you little body can handle. Then as grown ups the party turns into drinking as much as you can and buying a present that we didn’t put much thought into. So how are we actually celebrating the birthday person?
Ideas
What about a "This is your life" theme? Invite friends and family to share a story or express their feelings; create a book of memories that the guests have contributed to with photos and tales of the person you are honouring; ask all the guests to write an ode to the birthday girl/boy celebrating what they love about them. Work together with other guests to hire a celebrant to present an awesome ceremony that befits your friend.
Graduation
This is such a transitional time in a person’s life. They have just worked through 6 or 12 or 16+ years of study to be where they are now standing with certificate/diploma/degree/PhD in hand. Each step of the way should be celebrated for the hard slog already done and to help motivate for the next steps ahead.
Ideas
Why not organise a visual gallery of the students' work? Perhaps a ceremony whereby graduating students are paired with younger students interested in the same field as mentors? You could have teachers, parents and other educators let students know what a great effort they’ve put in whilst giving the students the opportunity to share how proud they are of themselves, and to thank their educators.
Anniversary
Anniversaries pass every year, sometimes unnoticed, but each year is a milestone in your relationship and it is a great time to reaffirm your feelings for each other. Maybe this doesn’t need to be a big fanfare every year and maybe for you a private, reflective ceremony is all you need…. but then again - why not celebrate in style every year with a ceremony that says “Hey - look what we did! Again!”
Ideas
Relive your marriage ceremony - repeating your original vows or creating new ones each year as you grow as a couple - also a great excuse for a catch up with your bridal party; Celebrate something different about you as a couple each year - first year: honour your shared love of writing with a poetry infused ceremony; Second year: Celebrate your love of travel with a destination ceremony, you get the idea…
(just a little tip: I know some lovely TCN celebrants who would jump at the chance to perform your ceremony in Fiji!)
Promotion
When you receive a promotion at work, there is sometimes a ceremony and presentation with bosses and work colleagues which is a great acknowledgement of your hard work and achievement, but there is nothing stopping you from having your own ceremonial event because it is a reason to celebrate. 
Ideas
Perhaps before you crack the bottle of champas, you could make a speech thanking and giving your own awards to the people who helped you get where are today. Gracious, thoughtful and appreciated.
New home
You’ve saved, you’ve scrimped and you’ve gone without, but now you have the keys to your brand new pad. You’ve organised a housewarming and you can’t wait to crack open a beer and celebrate with your mates….. but stop for a second to think about what you have achieved - that deserves more than just knocking the top off a cold one. Your efforts should be recognised, your sacrifices, applauded. 
Ideas
Have a small ceremony to stamp the moment that you did this thing and it will make it all the more memorable; You could thank the people who helped you get there; Have a special blessing put over the house; Light a candle symbolising your future at that address and even use the candle to start the BBQ - #new beginnings!
Want to read more? Click HERE to check out some of our sugggestions for celebrating every stage of life.
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Thank you for joining us....
?? We would love it if you would let us know what you think ?.
There is a comment section ? at the bottom ⬇ of the blog for you to do just that.
? Click on the word "Comment" and go for it!
? Don't forget to subscribe ? to this blog - the "subscribe" button is up the top of the page ⇞⇞⇞ and the blog will magically ?? appear in your email inbox ?.
Also please feel free to share ? our blog on your social media ? so we can spread the love ?!
Please use this ? link: https://www.celebrations.org.au/blog when you share. ?
Find us on Facebook
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Nov
08
Ways to Remember loved ones
The 11th of November is coming up this Friday which is Remembrance Day. The day we pay our respects to those soldiers who died in the First World War.
To do this we wear poppies as a way to mark the day, we lay flowers, we march wearing the medals of our grandfathers and great grandfathers, we hold services where a bugler will sound the “Last Post” and we observe a one minute silence.
We do all these things so as not to forget those people who died for our freedom. It’s one day out of the year that is set aside to specifically think about those men and woman. We do this, even if we never knew any of them personally, so what do we do to remember those loved ones that we did know?
Here are some ideas that you might like to use when you choose your own day of remembrance for your loved ones.
Gather relatives and have your own day of remembrance for those family members who have died. You could incorporate some of the ideas below at your gathering.
Play their favourite song - you could do this at your gathering or you could listen privately - anywhere. We all know the power of an old song to trigger vivid memories that seem to transport us back in time and space. Music has the ability to evoke such strong memories of people and places.
Get all the grandchildren and try to emulate Nana’s famous biscuit recipe. Whilst you're all there, stories about all the things you loved about your Nana can be shared, passing on the love to the younger members of your family.
Go to their favourite park for a picnic - Go with family and share in the day remembering and swapping stories. It may help you to feel closer to them and if you choose to go on your own, gives you a quite place to reflect.
Plant a tree in their honour - You may have heard of planting a tree in celebration of a birth; the same logic applies for a death. The tree symbolises not the fact that your loved one has died, but that they lived. A flowering tree is great because when the tree blossoms every year, the branches can be brought into the house, symbolising the celebration of that life.
Dedicate a memorial bench - I love wandering through parks reading the memorial plaques on benches, thinking about who the people could have been and what their lives were like. This is a place that you can go to actively think about your loved one and if the bench is in a place that they loved to go, that can help you to feel that bit closer to them as well.
Light a candle - This has always been symbolic in memorials. Gazing at flame helps you to focus your thinking on their memory. Just be careful not to leave the flame burning when you're not there!
Create a book of stories about your loved one - Ask family and friends for their favourite stories and precious memories, include photos and make a treasured keepsake.
Display old photos of your loved one in a creative way - It's nice to display pictures instead of keeping them tucked away in a photo album. Friends and family members can be hesitant to discuss their deceased loved one, but pictures can be very comforting to those who are grieving.
To make the special day even more memorable, you could add a meaningful ceremony to your day.
It takes nothing to speak to one of our TCN Celebrants who can help you to arrange the perfect tribute for your loved one.
Want to Read More... Click here!
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Thank you for joining us....
?? We would love it if you would let us know what you think ?.
There is a comment section ? at the bottom ⬇ of the blog for you to do just that.
? Click on the word "Comment" and go for it!
? Don't forget to subscribe ? to this blog - the "subscribe" button is up the top of the page ⇞⇞⇞ and the blog will magically ?? appear in your email inbox ?.
Also please feel free to share ? our blog on your social media ? so we can spread the love ?!
Please use this ? link: https://www.celebrations.org.au/blog when you share. ?
Find us on Facebook
& Twitter
Thank you for joining us....
?? We would love it if you would let us know what you think ?.
There is a comment section ? at the bottom ⬇ of the blog for you to do just that.
? Click on the word "Comment" and go for it!
? Don't forget to subscribe ? to this blog - the "subscribe" button is up the top of the page ⇞⇞⇞ and the blog will magically ?? appear in your email inbox ?.
Also please feel free to share ? our blog on your social media ? so we can spread the love ?!
Please use this ? link: https://www.celebrations.org.au/blog when you share. ?
Find us on Facebook
Jan
20
Have you ever wondered about what wedding anniversary symbols are all about?
No one knows precisely when wedding anniversaries were first celebrated, but the tradition is believed to go back at least to the Middle Ages. At that time in the Germanic regions of Europe, a husband crowned his wife with a silver wreath on the 25th anniversary of their wedding day. If the couple was fortunate to live long enough, the husband presented his wife with a gold wreath on their 50th wedding anniversary.
Over the years more symbols have been added and it is generally believed that increasingly durable gifts were chosen for successive years to represent the progressive strengthening of the marriage relationship. As the years go by, the gifts increase in strength and worth from paper to diamond.
1st Anniversary
Paper
Nov
21
ASK A CELEBRANT BLOG: When Rona Goold TCN Coordinator celebrated her 20th Anniversary, she sent her 'sweetie husband" Steve a personal e-card on the theme of 'Life is a bowl of cherries' - when you have a good partner, where one's joined at the heart and that they made "a good pair" with this image :-)
Steve and Rona say that knowing each other's Love Languages is one way they strengthen their relationship.
"Fortunately 'gift giving' is not high on either of our lists, but words of affirmation and acts of service are.On receiving his e-card, Steve declared that it is really great to feel so close that neither "gives each other the pip"!" says Rona
What are your words of advice to newly weds about strengthening their marriage over time?
May
12
ASKACELEBRANT Honours ALL Mothers Everywhere!
Why celebrate with ceremony?
Because Mothers give of themselves in so many ways. Plan now for this Mothers Day. Give a Mothers’ Day Gift that is special and unique!
Within the very busy and time poor world of today, seldom do we take the time to honour some of the vital and important ‘things and people’ in our everyday lives.
True we celebrate Birthdays, Christmas, Weddings, and so on, but when it comes to expressions of love and gratitude to certain people, especially our parents, and particularly our Mothers . . . we are inclined to fall into the ‘commercial trappings’ . . . for up until now, there have been few alternative options.
Read more on:
https://www.celebrations.org.au/everyone/content/63-celebrate-mothers-day
Jan
22
ASK A CELEBRANT BLOG: Problem is by the time I've reached this age, I'll probably need someone else to organise this for me!
So how can a congratulatory message be organised? Australians who are celebrating a special birthday or wedding anniversary can receive personal congratulations from the Prime Minister, Governor-General or The Queen.
Who is eligible for a congratulatory message?
- The Prime Minister will send a message of congratulations to people turning 90 years of age or more.
- The Queen and Governor-General will send a message on a 100th birthday.
Dec
04
Just sent an e-card to a niece in Queensland "A happy anniversary bouquet for a beautiful bride and hubby on their 12th + 2 days anniversary!"
The Traditional symbols for 12th wedding anniversary are Silk/Linen and the New Tradition is Pearls which I love. The Flower is Peony.
Perhaps you can look up the symbols for the next anniversary in your life here at:
Nov
20
How do you and your partner celebrate your anniversaries? And what is it that you celebrate - the anniversary of first meeting, first moving in together or more traditionally, your wedding anniversary?
First thing of course is to remember the date! This can be tricky as many of us know but it is usually greatly appreciated so well worth doing!
Perhaps you are looking for a different and special way to celebrate this year. Maybe it is a significant anniversary for you for some reason. It may be the number - 1st, 5th, 10th, 25th, 30th, 40th and 50th wedding anniversaries are often deemed more special, But it may also be something else that is special this year - overcoming difficulties together, starting your family, having the last child leave home - the reasons are as individual as the couples who are celebrating.
Why not think about engaging a celebrant from the The Celebrants Network (TCN) to design and conduct a ceremony that meets your individual needs? You can find a celebrant near you on our website . You can also find lots of information about different ceremonies for anniversaries.
Our TCN founder Rona Goold and her husband Steve had their 21st Wedding Anniversary last year and they asked TCN Celebrant Robyn Lenahan to conduct a ceremony for them.
Rona made a YouTube video using pictures from their wedding to use as part of the ceremony, an example of an original idea that had significance for the guests at their celebration. You can watch it here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ua6Qv2Yn5_o&feature=youtu.be and enjoy the original song "I Wish For You" performed by the Two Macs which was first performed at Rona and Steve's wedding.
Tell us about your ideas for celebrating anniversaries by commenting below.