Eternal flame
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Image:Unknown-soldier-sofia-2-fire.jpg- Eternal Flame is also a single released by The Bangles in 1989, and covered by Atomic Kitten in 2001.
An eternal flame is a flame or torch that burns constantly, fed by a measured supply of propane gas or natural gas. It is most often used as a symbol to acknowledge and remember a person or event of national significance, or a group of brave and noble people connected to some event, or even a laudable goal such as international peace.
The eternal flame to commemorate President Kennedy in the United States in 1963 was the first time in the world that an individual person was given such an honor.[citation needed] Henceforward, eternal flames would be designated more frequently around the world to honor the loss of persons of great significance, in addition to major tragic events.
Eternal flames exist in nature as well, as byproducts of natural gas deposits leaking through the ground.
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[edit] Symbolic eternal flames around the world
Image:Peace Tower and Centennial Flame.jpg[edit] Extinguished
- The Sacred fire of Vesta in ancient Rome, which burned within the Temple of Vesta on the Roman forum
- The Bible commands that "The fire shall ever be burning upon the altar; it shall never go out", regarding the altar of the Tabernacle. (Leviticus 6:13, KJV)
- The Olympic Flame is a kind of eternal flame which is kept lit throughout the Olympic Games
- The eternal flame that was kept burning in the inner hearth of the Temple of Delphic Apollo at Delphi in Greece
- There is an eternal flame outside of the Peace Tower in Ottawa, Canada, with the shields of each of the provinces and territories. This is called the Centennial Flame. Although it is, in principle, constantly kept burning, it is extinguished twice a year for maintenance of the surrounding fountain
[edit] Current
[edit] Europe
Image:Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Moscow.jpg
- Paris, France, under the archway at the Arc de Triomphe, which has burned continuously since 1921, in memory of all who died in World War I
- Moscow, Russia, at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in the Alexander Garden to honour the dead of the Great Patriotic War
- Budapest, Hungary, in Kossuth Square commemorating the revolutionaries of the 1956 uprising against control by the Soviet Union
- Sofia, Bulgaria at the Monument to the Unknown Soldier
- The Hague, Netherlands at the Peace Palace
[edit] Italy
- Madonna del Ghisallo near Lake Como, for all cyclists who have died
- Rome, on the Altare della Patria for the Unknown Soldier
[edit] Americas
- London, Ontario, Canada, at 442 Adelaide Street where Sir Frederick Banting did theoretical work leading to the discovery of human insulin
[edit] United States
Image:Bowman eternal flame.jpg
- John F. Kennedy Eternal Flame in Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia, lit by Jacqueline Kennedy on November 25, 1963 during the assassinated president's state funeral
- Gettysburg Battlefield, Pennsylvania, in memory of the dead of the American Civil War, first lit by President Franklin Roosevelt in 1938
- Decatur, Georgia at the square downtown, for the Korean War, World War II and the Vietnam War
- Atlanta, Georgia at the King Center, for assassinated civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr.
- Washington, D.C., at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, first lit in 1993 by President Clinton and noted Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel
- New York City, New York, at Ground Zero, lit by Mayor Michael Bloomberg on the first anniversary of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks upon the financial district of the city.
- A second one is located under The Sphere, a sculpture damaged but recovered from the World Trade Center site
- Shanksville, Pennsylvania, to honour the pilots and passengers aboard United Flight 93 on 9-11 in their efforts to thwart the hijacking
- Chicago, Illinois to honor those who perished in World War II
- Honolulu, Hawaii, to honour victims of 9-11
- ORU, Oklahoma, atop the Prayer Tower, which represents the baptism of the Holy Spirit
- Newport News Victory Arch in Virginia, commemorating American servicemen and women
- Memphis, Tennessee at the grave of Elvis Presley at his home "Graceland"
- University of California, Santa Barbara houses
- Bowman, South Carolina, lit in 1987 in honor and memory of the community's residents who died in World War I, World War II, and the Vietnam War
- Washington Square (Philadelphia), site of the city's Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
[edit] Australia and Oceania
Image:The-Eternal-Flame-Brisbane.jpg
- Eternal Flame of Freedom, Corregidor, Philippines
[edit] Australia
- In the Shrine of Remembrance in Anzac Square in Brisbane, Queensland
- At the Australian War Memorial, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory
[edit] Asia
- New Delhi, India, at the Raj Ghat in memory of Mahatma Gandhi
- Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India to remember the victims of the 2004 Asian Tsunami, unveiled in late 2005
- Yerevan, Armenia, in the center of the Armenian Genocide Memorial
[edit] Japan
Image:Peace Flame and Museum.jpg
- Nara, at a Buddhist tomb, which has been burning for over 1100 years
- Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, to remain lit until all nuclear weapons in the world are abolished
[edit] Israel
- Tel Aviv, at Rabin Square, for assassinated Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin
- In Jerusalem at Yad Vashem, the national Holocaust-Memorial of Israel
- Near Jerusalem at Yad Kennedy, Israel's memorial to President Kennedy
[edit] Africa
[edit] Mock Eternal Flames
- Stephen Colbert created the World War III Eternal Flame on August 3, 2006 which will burn until World War III is over. The flame is a digital video of a fire framed by the fireplace on the set of The Colbert Report.
[edit] Natural eternal flames
- The Eternal Flame Falls can be found in the Shale Creek Preserve in New York, USA.
- There is an area producing natural spontaneous flames in Olympos National Park in Turkey.
- There is an eternal flame in Guanziling, Taiwan, as a result of methane gas.
- Flaming Geyser State Park in Washington, USA.
- An Eternal Flame in Australia, where instead of natural gas fueling the fire, it's a coal seam. It is also the world's longest burning fire, thought to have started by a lightning strike.
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