Scouts will distribute the Bethlehem light across the Czech Republic, trams will carry it in Prague
Update: 17/12/2022 00:28
Issued by: 17/12/2022, 00:28
Prague – Scout couriers will today deliver the Bethlehem light that they brought from Austria a week ago in trains across the Czech Republic. Local scouts or volunteers will take over the flames at the stations and they will spread even where the tracks don’t lead. A train will arrive at Prague’s main railway station shortly before 10:00 a.m. with the light lit in Bethlehem, and in the afternoon the scouts will deliver it in historic trams.
The Bethlehem light is one of the modern symbols of Christmas, which was created in 1986 in Austria. From Bethlehem, where, according to Christian tradition, Jesus Christ was born, the light is transported by air to Vienna, where its Austrian scouts handed it over to scout delegations from all over Europe last Saturday. The Czech light bearers then brought it to Brno’s main railway station and on Sunday handed it over to the bishop in the Brno Cathedral of St. Peter and Paul in Petrová. According to the organizers, many people are involved in the distribution around the country.
In Prague today, people can come for a flamingo at one of the 17 stops two historic trams. At each stop, the Bethlehem light will be available for approximately 15 to 20 minutes. The first stop will be Smíchovské nádraží from 1:21 p.m., respectively the Nádraží Braník interchange from 1:33 p.m., the last Královka and Červený Vrch until 6:50 p.m., the Prague transport company said. People can find other events on the website betlemskesvetlo.cz.
At 14:00, scout couriers will also hand over the Bethlehem light to representatives of the metropolis in front of the New Town Hall building on Mariánské náměstí. The flame will be lit in its vestibule until January 1, while it will also be available to the public.
The aim of the event is to spread the idea of peace, friendship and peace together with the flame. For believers, the light of Bethlehem is a symbol of hope, the light that overcomes darkness. For the first time, the flame traveled by plane to Linz in 1986, where it is part of the Christmas collection of Austrian radio and television to help disabled children. The Bethlehem light came to the Czech Republic after the fall of communism, and in December 1989 it traveled under the statue of St. Wenceslas in Prague in the hands of exiled Boy Scouts. In 190 Brno scouts came up with the idea of the Bethlehem light, and in the fall of the same year they started preparing the Czech version.