Christmas remembrance candles lit in Belgium and the Netherlands

Bergen-op-Zoom War Cemetery (photo Dick Vermaas), Arnhem Oosterbeek War Cemetery (photo Daan Van Oort).

Now in its 10th year, ‘Lights on War Graves’ took place across 482 locations in Belgium and the Netherlands over the 2024 Christmas period. Candles were lit at 25,740 war graves and 207 monuments during this annual act of remembrance, first established in 2015.

Building on an existing light commemoration at the Canadian War Cemetery in Holten, Dick Jansen from Burgum, the Netherlands established a social media action group to organise lights on war graves at sites across the Netherlands.

Jonkerbos War Cemetery (photo Geert Timmer), Holten Canadian War Cemetery (photo Stichting Viering Nationale Feestdagen).

The initial response saw candles placed at 140 locations in the Netherlands on Christmas Eve and this commemoration has grown into a Christmas tradition that has expanded internationally with lights now being placed at sites in Belgium, France, Germany, Indonesia and the UK.

Leopoldsburg War Cemetery (photo Eric Campernolle), Adegem Canadian War Cemetery (photo Marie Jeanne De Clerck).