Celine Dion Opens Up On First Holiday Season Since Husband’s Death

Published on December 9, 2016.

Photo by Erik Pendzich/REX/Shutterstock

Celine Dion has been a pillar of strength for her family ever since she lost her husband, Rene Angelil, this past January after a courageous battle with cancer.

Now, the iconic singer is facing the difficulty of spending her first holiday season in almost 30 years without her husband, and opened up about her plans for the holidays to Page Six. “I cannot just live on like, ‘I lost my husband; my children have no father,” the 48-year-old said. “I have to stand tall and strong because this my way of living: Stand tall, be positive, pick your battles, do the best you can and to live for today, not for tomorrow, for today, and know nothing is perfect, not everything you want will happen.”

She also revealed that this Christmas she is taking her children, Rene-Charles, 15, and twins Eddy and Nelson, 6, skiing in Montana which was a family tradition before Angelil became too ill. “He put something magic into the snow, into those mountains, and every time we go down, I go down with him. My children go down thinking about him. Every time I take the lift to go up. I feel closer to him.”

Dion continued, “I can’t believe it’s going to be a year that my husband passed. I don’t know when Santa Claus is coming, but if I had a wish to make this year, can you just tell him to take his time? I’m not ready! It’s kind of a bittersweet moment and at the same time we need to really make the holidays really happy.”

“For me the trip is not to party. It’s to try and meditate, find balance and be at peace with myself and my children and to eat, to play games — whether it’s Monopoly or the telephone game,” she explained. “We are healing each day. My kids are doing really well and eventually you have to just move on. Yesterday is over, tomorrow is not here yet, so today is today.”