For many, the holidays offer a great opportunity to reminisce.

Families and friends gather around festive decorations and yummy treats, all discussing childhood antics, tried-and-true traditions and memories of beloved family members.

These memories, says Robin Baltimore with Novant Health, are a way of holding onto the people we hold dear.

This year, Rowan Hospice and Palliative Care is offering a unique way to honor and remember those we treasure with their “Lights of Love” luminary display.

The luminary display is taking place at the Glenn A. Kiser Hospice House. For a $20 donation, individuals can have a luminary placed within the display in the building’s front entrance. Luminaries are marked with the names of the individuals or groups they are meant to honor or remember.

Edwina Ritchie, director of the hospice house, said the event began in late November. The displays were first placed outside the building’s front entrance.

“We thought they were so pretty and we wanted to continue to have a way that we could remember our loved ones during this special time,” said Ritchie. Therein, the luminary display continued, with a slight relocation.

Now, the 30 luminaries will are displayed in front of the “Grand Old Oak Tree” sculpture in the building’s front lobby. They are lit each night from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.

The lobby of the building is open from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Proceeds from the donations filter back to Rowan Hospice and Palliative Care, helping workers continue to for patients and families in our area. Hospice and palliative care patients, and their support systems, are faced with the physical and emotional challenges of serious illness.

“We encourage folks to remember and to talk and to share when they’ve had a loved one pass,” said Ritchie. “This is a good way to generate those memories.”

“Lights of Love” Luminaries will be on display until Jan. 1, 2018. This is their first year doing the display, but Ritchie said she hopes to continue it in the future.

“Memories are important and remembering our loved times during this season is sometimes difficult because it is a special time of year,” said Ritchie. “I hope we can make it an annual event.”