The Peace Light from Bethlehem, brought to Slovenia from Vienna by the Slovenian Scouts, was received on Sunday at the Ljubljana the City Hall and at the Ljubljana Cathedral where a special service was held to mark the occasion.
The project entitled "A Sale of Peace - the More You Give, the More You Have", aims at spreading peace among people during the holiday season.
Addressing those gathered in front of the Ljubljana City Hall, Ljubljana Deputy Mayor Jani Moederndoerfer expressed hope that the Peace Light from Bethlehem would usher in a time of reason and cooperation in harmony.
"We receive the peace light to pass it on and with it our wishes that all would have a warm home and that people loved us for what we are," Moederndorfer stressed, adding that the light does not go out if we share it.
The peace light started its journey through Slovenia, which will last until Christmas, on Saturday, when they the scouts visited Nova Gorica and Murska Sobota.
The idea for the Peace Light from Bethlehem originated in the charity show "Light into Darkness", aired since 1986 by the Austrian public broadcaster ORF. Each year, a child from Austria collects the light from the grotto in Bethlehem where Jesus was born.
The light is then flown to Austria from where it is distributed to delegations from across Europe who take it back to their own countries for use at ecumenical services.
Scouts and Guides can then take the light on to houses of worship, hospitals, homeless shelters, old people homes, prisons, and places of public, cultural and political importance.
Slovenian Catholic scouts first brought the Light to Slovenia in 1991 with the message "Peace Is Time Without War".
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