NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Thanksgiving is a day centered around gratitude — but for many across Middle Tennessee and the country, it can also be filled with grief.

It’s been several months since the explosion at the Accurate Energetic Systems plant in Hickman County took 16 lives. And for the families forever changed by that day, this holiday season is bringing waves of painful “firsts.”

“We need to remember this isn’t always a happy time of year for everybody,” said chaplain Jim Melrose. “There are people who struggle.”

Melrose said the weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas often reopen wounds for families navigating their first holidays without a loved one.

“The first Thanksgiving. The first Christmas. The first time they put up a Christmas tree,” he said. “All those things are th

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