How to Celebrate a Birthday of a Lost Loved One

It is very sad when we lose someone very close to us, whether due to old age, or due to health reasons, or unfortunate events. Even though our loved ones move on to a higher place, they are never forgotten and are forever in our hearts.

We never forget their birthdays, and so we should never stop celebrating them. There are different ways one can celebrate a birthday of a lost loved one. Here's how I celebrate birthdays of my grandparents who are sadly no longer here.

I have lost all of my grandparents. Every year when their birthday arrives, I always look at their photos and wish them a happy birthday. I talk to them a little bit too.

When my family gets together we always pay our respects to the grandparent whose birthday it is. We say a toast and drink a few shots, but we never clink our glasses because when someone dies it is inappropriate to do so. I am not sure exactly why that is, but I think it's because clinking glasses signifies happiness and this isn't a happy occasion.

What we also do is pour some vodka into a shot glass, place a piece of bread on top of it, sprinkle some salt onto the bread, and leave the shot glass on the table beside us. We let it stay there the whole evening. Sometimes we even do this in the morning and keep the shot glass there the whole day, in honor of the person we lost.

I think celebrating a birthday of a lost loved one is just as important as celebrating a birthday of a loved one who is thankfully still alive with us at the moment. Even though our lost loved ones are no longer here with us, they are always watching over us, and we should always pay our respects to them until we join them in another life.