During an ecumenical celebration in Vienna, it was set off by girls from the scout troop from the 117th corps of Horné Srnie-Nemšová. Subsequently, the scouts handed over the light to the President of the Slovak Republic, Peter Pellegrini, on Saturday evening.
The Light of Bethlehem arrived at the Presidential Palace in Bratislava, where the head of state received it from a scouting delegation led by the head of Slovak Scouting, Marián Lez, and girl scouts from the Team of the Year. “The Bethlehem light that you bring should bring peace, peace, hope and love to Slovakia,” said Pellegrini, saying that the flamingo should also be an encouragement to greater respect and tolerance. At the same time, he praised the tradition of the Slovak scout movement, which celebrated its 110th anniversary and is one of the oldest organizations for children and youth.
“Let this symbol remind us all that we are part of one big family in which we should support each other. I wish this light a blessed journey and a joyful Christmas to all of Slovakia,” added the president on the social network.
On Sunday (December 15), Slovak scouts will hand over the flame from Bethlehem to scouts from Poland during the Holy Mass in St. Martin’s Cathedral in the Spišská Chapter. In the morning, they will bring the light to Uzhhorod, where it will be taken over by scouts from Ukraine.
The light will be distributed by scouts across the country via train connections. They will deliver it to more than 300 towns and villages, including hospitals, asylums, social and nursing care homes, and Lomnický štít. The scouts will distribute flamingo on Christmas Day as well.
