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The Luminaria Ceremony
Some things in life are hard to adequately describe and give justice to, as they
are too powerful, important, and meaningful. The luminaria ceremony that takes
place during the Relay For Life is one such thing. If you've experienced it,
you know. If you haven't, we strongly encourage you to come take part in this
and see first-hand what it's all about.
Luminaria are tea-lights placed around the inside of the track in special Relay
For Life bags. The names of our cancer survivors, as well as those that we
have lost to cancer, are written on each bag. Typically starting between 9:00
and 9:30 pm on the Friday night of Relay, all of the lights are shut off, each
tea-light is lit, and our luminaria ceremony begins. We ask everyone to respect others and be very quiet at this
time, walking around the outer lanes of the track so as not to bump into people
who wish to sit by their luminaria.
Each of these people are then honored, remembered, and celebrated during the ceremony
by having their names displayed on a screen set up next to the track. How
long the ceremony lasts depends on how many luminaria are purchased, but, on average,
plan on it being anywhere between one to two hours. When the ceremony is done,
the lights are turned back on, and the Relay for Life continues. This is easily
the most emotional part of any Relay For Life.
If you would like to watch the list of names as they appeared on the screen at our
2007 Relay,
that ceremony is available here.
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