Slovak Scouts to Bring Light of Bethlehem to Slovakia Again on Saturday

Bratislava, 4 December (TASR) - Slovak scouts will once again bring the Light of Bethlehem to Slovakia on Saturday (6 December), Maria Dirgova from Slovak Scouting told TASR on Thursday, adding that they'll distribute the flame throughout the country in the coming weeks, mainly by train. The scouts will bring the Light of Bethlehem from Austria. On Sunday (7 December) morning, they'll hand it over to Polish scouts, and a week later, Ukrainian scouts will take it over at a ceremony in Uzhhorod, Ukraine. The scouts will begin distributing it throughout Slovakia during the pre-Christmas weekend on Saturday, 20 December. Scouts will distribute the light from early morning by train to more than 300 municipalities, hospitals, asylum houses, social and nursing homes. They'll also light it at pre-Christmas masses and services, bring it directly to people's homes, and even go up to Lomnicky Peak in the High Tatra mountains. They'll be distributing the light until Christmas Eve. "We'll spread a light of hope throughout Slovakia for the 36th time as a symbol of peace, love, and harmony. Every flame we bring has great significance for people - it brings them a sense of belonging and hope. We're delighted to see how the Light of Bethlehem has become part of the pre-Christmas atmosphere in all corners of Slovakia. We'll also symbolically pass it on to the easternmost, westernmost, northernmost, and southernmost villages to make it clear that the Light of Bethlehem will reach all people in Slovakia," said Denisa Podskubova, coordinator of the Light of Bethlehem in Slovakia. am/df