Crowds gathered at Kyiv's Saint Sophia Cathedral on December 10 to welcome a flame carried to Ukraine from the Middle East as part of a tradition dating back to the 1980s.
Ukraine Welcomes 'Peace Light' From Bethlehem
Two girls photographed on the evening of December 10 hold lanterns containing a flame that was carried from Bethlehem to Kyiv's Saint Sophia Cathedral.
Young Ukrainians surround the lantern, in which the "peace light of Bethlehem" arrived in Kyiv from the Middle East via Austria.
A December 2 photo of a man lighting a candle inside Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity, where Jesus is believed to have been born.
The Peace Light of Bethlehem is an Austrian initiative that began in 1986. Every year since then, a flame has been carried from the Church of the Nativity to Austria on the country's national airline, then distributed throughout the country by members of the Austrian scouts association.
Ukraine's peace flame arrived from Vienna and members of Ukraine's largest scouting organization will now deliver it by rail to 24 different stations throughout Ukraine for further distribution.
A December 2022 file photo of the peace flame arriving at St. Michael's Cathedral in Kyiv, past rows of girl scouts.
The stated aim of the flame's distribution is to "bring the message of light and peace to as many people as possible." Several European countries have begun receiving the flame in recent years.
Slovakian and Polish girl scouts light their lanterns during a ceremony to distribute the peace light in southern Poland on December 10.
Young Ukrainians watch the December 10 ceremony outside the Saint Sophia Cathedral in freezing winter weather.
Crowds and a lantern outside the Saint Sophia Cathedral on December 10.
Ukraine's Sophia of Kyiv National Reserve said in a Facebook post that the flame will be passed on to Ukrainian fighters at the front lines along with "Christmas gifts as a thank you to the military and volunteers."