President Rumen Radev will participate in the traditional candle lighting ceremony for the Festival of Lights - Hanukkah, the press secretariat of the head of state announced.

Rumen Radev will light the first candle from the ritual candlestick and will deliver a speech.

The ceremony will begin at 6:00 p.m. in the Central Sofia Synagogue.

In Hebrew, "Hanukkah" means "dedication". The holiday marks the re-dedication of the Temple in Jerusalem in the 2nd century BC, after a small group of Jewish fighters liberated it from foreign occupiers.

President Radev attended the celebration of the eighth day of the Hanukkah holiday in the Central Sofia Synagogue in 2023. Light inevitably triumphs over darkness, as long as there are people with valor and courage who are not afraid to fight for it, he said in his speech. In a symbolic way, Hanukkah reminds us that although darkness has accompanied humanity since the dawn of its history, with our efforts, open hearts and faith in good, we can give way to the light. We can drive away the darkness beyond the world of man, build together new hope, more justice and sincere empathy between people. For this, I believe that this ancient testament is especially needed today, the head of state also said.