The Angel of Hope Memorial was dedicated in Wilderness Park in 2017.

Garrison is one of a few cities in North Dakota with the angel statues. The other cities in the state include Fargo, Bismarck, Westhope and Devils Lake.

Mike Matteson of Garrison said the Angel of Hope Memorial is not just for the Garrison community but “it’s for everyone.”

On the statue is enscribed the word “Hope” – a place of healing, reflecting and a place for people to grieve.

Eloise Ogden/MDN This is the inscription on the Angel of Hope Memorial located in Wilderness Park in Garrison.

“The Christmas Box Angel Statue was introduced to the world in the book, ‘The Christmas Box,’ a worldwide bestseller and hit television movie by Richard Paul Evans, according to Evans’ website. “In the book, a woman mourns the loss of her child at the base of an angel monument. Though the story is mostly fiction, the angel monument once existed but is speculated to have been destroyed.”

In response to reports that grieving parents were seeking out the statue in the book, Evans commissioned an angel statue to stand in the City Cemetery in Salt Lake City, Utah. The monument was dedicated on Dec. 6, 1994 – corresponding with the date of the child’s death in ‘The Christmas Box,” according to the website.

Today, a number of communities across the U.S. along with Canada and Japan have Angel of Hope statues.

The annual Angel of Hope Memorial remembrance ceremony is held each Dec. 6 at Wilderness Park in northeast Garrison.

Matteson said those who have lost children are invited to write a letter to their child and place the letters and flowers at the memorial.

During the ceremony he said they also sing songs and have some hot chocolate and s’mores, the latter to remember what it was like to be a kid.

Dec. 6 also is observed as Children’s Day in many parts of the world.

For more about the Angel statues visit www.richardpaulevans.com/angel-statues.