It's the most wonderful time of the year - that's what the song says.
But it may not be so wonderful if you lose a loved one during the holiday season.
Decorations, music, lights - they should add up to a joyous occasion. But the loss of a loved one this time of year can put us through the stages of grief.
"There's denial, there's a numbness, there's anger, there's starting to put things back together and there's finally acceptance," said David Rasmussen, Castle Medical Center's chaplain. "And that's kind of a summary of different views of stages of grief."
The holidays can be tough even if you lost a loved one earlier.
"The whole holiday season just brings up so many memories, so many feelings of loss, feelings of hurt, betrayal you name it, it happens," said Rasmussen. "Even if somebody has lost someone earlier in the year, the first holidays can be really dreadful."
So what can friends or family do when they sense someone going through the stages of grief?
"Watch what the individual's doing. If they're responding differently than they normally did, just be there for them. You don't have to say a lot to be with them, just let them talk," said Rasmussen.
And, the chaplain says, that person may say the same things over and over. That's all right.
"That's part of the process of grieving, is being able to work through the story, tell the story, tell the hurt and not try to cut it off and say oh, you'll get over it, you'll get better. Because that doesn't help people go through this," said Rasmussen.
And he says, children grieve, too. They may grieve differently, but their grief is just as intense.
"They need time to process, they need time to kind of adjust to a new reality and sometimes that takes a lot of work," said Rasmussen.
