Flames are burning around Orange County this week that are fueled by a more than 20-year tradition.
Even a global pandemic didn’t prevent the Peace Light from making its pilgrimage halfway around the globe for a yearly stop in Orange County.
Meant to symbolize peace, harmony and unity among people of the world regardless of their race or faith, the Peace Light is flown each year from its ever-burning origin at the Grotto of the Nativity in the West Bank, making stops throughout Europe and North America.
The flame is shared with community members, who light their own flame to take back to churches, homes, hospitals, homeless shelters and other meaningful places.
The continuously burning flame stayed flickering during the special distribution event at Fairhaven Memorial Park & Mortuary in Santa Ana on Sunday.
The distribution of the flame locally is organized in part by the Beacon Church in Orange, where Pastor Rick Olsen holds the title “Keeper of the Flame.”
“Christmas has become such a big commercial thing,” Olson said about the flame’s message “to remind us that it is about something bigger and not just something that is good for me.
“This is about us. This is about our community,” he said. “Regardless of the name that is on your front door or your building, we are all a part of this (ritual) that is ancient. Symbolically it is powerful.”
The ceremony, which has taken place in Orange County for 22 years, usually is held in the Orange Plaza, but safety concerns about space for social distancing prompted the event to be moved to the open grounds of Fairhaven.
The flame was positioned outside the entrance of Fairhaven’s Waverly Chapel and family friendly activity stations were set up several feet apart around the chapel too keep visitors separated while waiting their turn to light their flame.
St. Nicholas, the forerunner of Santa Claus, posed for socially distanced photos with children.
Kathleen Donnelly from Santa Ana arrived with a lantern to light from the Peace Flame, she planned to use it at home to light a larger candle she will keep burning through Christmas.
“This candle will eventually burn out, but the (originating) flame has never gone out for 1,000 years,” Donnelly said.
“Just to walk by it each day as we prepare our hearts for Christmas Day and remembering that Christ came as the light of the world and remembering it’s more than the business of the season,” she said. “This reminds us that his presence is always with us.”
Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts play a significant role in transporting the flame.
Each year, a child from Austria lights the initial flame from the grotto in Bethlehem. It is then flown to Austria, where it is distributed to Scouts and other delegations from across Europe who take it back to their respective communities.
The flame is then flown to the United States and is transported across the country by Scouts to events such as this one where it can be distributed to the community.
Cub Scout Pack 520 of Orange helped organize the festivities at Fairhaven.
“I’m most passionate about how you unite the community in any way possible,” said Reina Cuthill, committee chair for the pack. “This Peace Light event is an opportunity for us to safely gather, to be able to experience each other’s presence and to gather for a meaningful purpose, so that is what has been such a huge blessing for me.”
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December 24, 2020 at 05:09AM
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Peace Light flame offers a message of unity in Orange County - OCRegister
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