The Strange History of the Olympic Torch Lighting Ceremony

The history of the the torch lighting in Olympia and the runners carrying the flame to the games may seem like an ancient tradition, but it is actually a Nazi invention proposed possibly by Carl Diem and using a torch originally crafted by the Krupp Company and modeled after a ceremonial torch they used to ignite a new furnace in their factory meant to produce cannons...

The parabolic mirror used to light the Olympic torch uses the sun's rays.

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Some Christians contest the ceremony as it represents Olympian Priestesses praying to Apollo to send fire from the heavens via the sun's rays

This year's lighting of the torch can be watched in its entirety below, there is no hiding the fact that they do use the term "ritual" and "high priestess" a number of times: