The holiday season is upon us! Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day, filled with the usual hustle and bustle, shopping and music, food and demands to get busy, plays and programs and recitals—have all suddenly exploded onto the scenes of our already hectic lives.

It’s such an amazing time of year, loved by many. But for others, it’s also an emotional time filled with ups and downs. Feelings of sadness tend to creep up on us as we reminisce on days passed and loved ones we wish could still be with us.

I’ve been an Army wife for nearly nine years, and I have three young sons. A sense of longing for far-away family always fights for my attention in the midst of the holiday business—a longing to live closer to grandparents, cousins, aunts, and uncles, and to always be able to spend these times with them.

One of the best parts about living all around the world is picking up new traditions along the way. After three years in Germany, it was hard not to come back with German traditions. After all, they know how to celebrate the entire Christmas season, beginning in late November and lasting until Christmas Eve.

When touring a local Christmas market during our first year there, I picked up an Advent candle holder. It’s nothing fancy; after all, durability is the first thing I think about when buying something new (especially with seven moves under my belt over the last 11 years). It’s a slab of wood, candles in simple gold holders, and a red silk flower in the center edged with gold glitter. It’s enough to lend a bit of sparkle as the candlelight dances around the room.

The tradition is to light a candle each Sunday leading up to Christmas Eve. We will light the first candle on Dec. 1, and every Sunday until Dec. 22. My family lights them at dinner time, so we can talk about what each candle means.