CHEYENNE, Wyo. — The annual candlelight vigil at the Cheyenne Christmas Box Angel will take place on Wednesday, Dec. 6 at the Lakeview Cemetery.
The vigil is open to all who have lost children or siblings or are grieving a loss.
Attendees will meet at 7 p.m. at the City of Cheyenne Cemetery Office on Seymour. The group will then walk to the Christmas Box Angel together. Attendees should bring a candle and a white flower to leave at the Angel’s base.
All are welcome to stay after the brief ceremony to enjoy cookies and hot chocolate provided by cemetery staff.
According to the City of Cheyenne, the box is based on Richard Paul Evans’s best-selling novel of the same name. In “The Christmas Box,” a widow mourns the loss of her child at the base of an angel monument and discovers the precious gifts of life alongside a young struggling family that moves in with her.
Since the book’s release, demand grew for an angel memorial as a place to grieve and heal. The first Angel of Hope statue was dedicated in Salt Lake City, Utah, on Dec. 6, 1994, corresponding with the date of the child’s death in “The Christmas Box.” There are more than 120 Christmas Box Angel of Hope statues across the country.
With the face of a child, upturned palms and outstretched wings, the Angel of Hope offers solace to the grieving. The angel stands as a symbol of hope and healing for parents and families who have experienced the death of a loved one.
