Area organization honors two holidays with one ornament
MARQUETTE — As we enter the Holiday season, one local organization wants us to remember another day of importance.
December 1st marks World AIDS Day and the Marquette County Health Department decided to decorate a special tree to honor those suffering from the disease. The tree was hung with red ribbons inscribed with names of patients in the area. After they finished decorating, there was a prayer service, and a name reading.
“We’ve been doing this every year for many years now and it’s just a chance for family members, loved ones, whoever, to remember a person in their life that died of HIV or to honor someone who’s currently living with HIV,” said Laura Fredrickson, who helped decorate the tree, “We hope every year that our tree just brings awareness, let’s people know that there are people living in our community that are living with HIV, people who have died form HIV, and just bring awareness and remembrance.”
If you’d like to see the World AIDS Day tree, it’ll be on display at the Peter White Public Library for the rest of the month. It’s part of the Winter Wonderland Walk and there are dozens of other trees to look at.
Community organizations decorate the trees to match their own missions and spread a little holiday cheer.