Elvis knew it. You may as well. Holidays are hard after experiencing losses. Dating back to the 1990s, but especially over the last 15 years, the idea of a Blue Christmas service has its earliest known origin in a South Carolina movement, honoring sacrifices made by law enforcement who died in duty.

This gained a following and got incorporated into Protestant tradition which recognized the broader mourning of those who have experienced grief and other non-death losses. In 2012, a large observance occurred in a Louisville, KY Catholic parish, and in 2016, there was another service in South Carolina, once again for fallen officers.1

Last year, Interfaith America disseminated information about the phenomenon after it tied the movement together with polls done by the American Psychological Association (APA) as well as the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). Then, it also included former U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy’s attention to the loneliness crisis which does not abate.2

The APA found that 41% of adults in the US claimed an increase in holiday season stress while NAMI published that 64% of people living with mental illness reported their conditions worsened this time of year. A 2021 survey showed that three in five Americans felt their mental health was negatively impacted by the holidays.3

In comparison, a 2019 Pew Research Study found that more........

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