History
Turning to the history of the emergence of the “Candle of Memory”, you find some analogies with another historical and patriotic action – the “Immortal Regiment”. Both events, designed to keep the memory of the war years going further and further, originated in Siberia. That is, in the region that escaped all the horrors of the war with Nazi Germany. If the “Immortal Regiment” began its large-scale procession in Tomsk, then the “Candle of Memory” was lit for the first time sixteen years ago in neighboring Tyumen. The birth of popular initiatives in the eastern part of the country, associated with memories of the war, testify to the strong memory of our compatriots-contemporaries, wherever they live.
On the night of June 21-22, 2004, activists of the Youth Creative Association “People in Black” went out into the street with lit candles. Thus, the initiators of the creation of the Experimental Shakespeare Theater in Tyumen launched an action in memory of the beginning of the most terrible military conflict in the centuries-old history of Our Country. Five years later, in 2009, the action, having received the support of United Our Country, the Orthodox Church and the Interreligious Council of Our Country, gained international status. Interestingly, in the same 2009, an action of the same name took place on the banks of the Neva in honor of the 65th anniversary of the lifting of the blockade of Leningrad.
In Moscow, the event was first held in 2010 at the Epiphany Cathedral in Yelokhovo. As history testifies, it was in this cathedral that the first wartime liturgy was served on June 22. And it was the beginning of the war, according to contemporaries, that saved the cathedral from its closure.
In 2020, the action was held online due to the coronavirus epidemic. It was coordinated by the charitable foundation “Memory of Generations”. The purpose of the action was to “light” 27 million virtual candles: according to the number of those who died during the Great Patriotic War. For each such candle, the fund contributed 1 ruble to help veterans. As a result of the action, 742 veterans received support for a total amount of more than 27 million rubles.
It is interesting that, like any folk undertaking, the “Candle of Memory” has acquired many additional meanings and meanings in addition to the original one. Although the generally accepted dates for the action are night from 21 to 22 June, in different regions, similar events are often organized on other days. Candles are often lit symbolically on the eve of May 9. And in St. Petersburg, for example, the action is also taking place on the day the blockade of Leningrad is lifted – 27 January.
Goal
The action “Candle of Memory” is aimed primarily at the younger generation, who knows the history of the Great Patriotic War from the stories of older relatives. Examples of the heroism of our ancestors should form among young contemporaries their attitude to the history of Our Country, the feat and self-sacrifice of the defenders of the Motherland. Through involvement in patriotic events such as the Candle of Memory, the legacy of military glory is preserved.
The action sets itself the task of uniting volunteers, holding similar events in hero cities and cities of military glory. As a result, the public online “Book of Memory” of the heroes – participants in the war of 1941-1945 is supplemented. The main target groups of the international independent patriotic action “Candle of Memory” are veterans, children and teenagers, youth and students.
Where is
The action “Candle of Memory” in Our Country in 2023 will be held in most cities. But not only. This year, as before, candles will light up outside our country. For example, in 2020, the Candle of Memory campaign, in addition to the cities of the Federation, was held in twenty countries. In the hero cities, the Victory volunteers created “fiery pictures” from candles united by the common slogan “Remember!”. In the capital, at the Museum of Victory on Poklonnaya Hill, the participants of the action laid out from candles the image of a Soviet soldier from the famous 1941 poster “Defend Moscow!”. The lit candle, according to tradition, was brought to Poklonnaya Gora from the Epiphany Cathedral in Yelokhovo. On the Day of Memory and Sorrow in Yelokhovo, a memorial service is usually held for all those who died in the Great Patriotic War.
In the city of gunsmiths – Tula – the “candle picture” was dedicated to young arsenal workers who took the place of their fathers at the factory, who had gone to the front. In Novorossiysk, at the Malaya Zemlya memorial, a figure of a paratrooper was laid out from candles. On Sakhalin – the image of the Volgograd sculpture “The Motherland Calls!”. In Tatarstan, a portrait of the Hero of the Soviet Union, the national Tatar poet Musa Jalil was created in the same way.
They lit the “Candle of Memory” in 2020 and abroad. On the central square of the memorial complex of the capital of Uzbekistan – Tashkent – Victory volunteers laid out a star from small candles, as well as the number 75 – a symbol of the anniversary of the Victory over fascism. In the Middle Eastern state of Lebanon, our compatriots living in the “country of cedar”, in addition to lit candles, also recorded a video message with a poem dedicated to the outbreak of war.
How to take part
To become a participant in the action, you just need to light a candle in memory of all those who died in the war. Participants of the “Candle of Memory” action set up lit lamps at war memorials and monuments. Follow the news in your city: promotion announcements and information about the time and place of its holding usually appear on local news portals in advance.