Boston, MA: Falun Dafa Practitioners Awarded Second Place in the 51st Quincy Christmas Parade (Photos)
By Boston Practitioners
(Clearwisdom.net) On Sunday, November 30th, 2003, Falun
Dafa practitioners from the Boston area participated in the 51st
Quincy Christmas Parade. Quincy is an ethnically diverse city in Massachusetts,
with a large number of Chinese residents. It also has a rich history as home to
two of America's former Presidents, John Adams and John Quincy Adams. Most memorable in the parade planning process was how practitioners from
various states in New England supplemented our float and dance entry with their
skills and heart. The already busy practitioners took the time to learn the flag
dance by meeting before sunrise in the dark and rainy weather. Some of them
worked until midnight building the float base by hand. Others loaned their
handmade float ornaments and dance props. And even family members of
practitioners kindly opened their homes for us to work in and sew colorful flags
for our flag dance. What resulted was a beautiful and dignified parade procession comprised of a
lotus-themed float and two dance troupes. The flag dance debuted in this parade;
male practitioners displayed their righteousness and dignity in a colorful mix
of flag twirling and movements derived from the martial arts and set to music
composed by practitioners. Meanwhile, the female practitioners displayed grace
and beauty with a ribbon dance. The wooden float made by practitioners was
decorated with pine garlands accented with varying-sized lotus flowers. The
highlight of the float were two large lotus seats positioned in the middle, each
encompassed by a giant golden shiny ring representing the mysterious pass.
During the parade, children from the Minghui School demonstrated the fifth
exercise of Falun Dafa in the giant lotus seats, while adult practitioners of
various ethnicities stood at the four corners of the float to demonstrate the
standing exercises. Their serene, smiling faces radiated the message of
truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance. The purity, compassion, and peace
exhibited by our float and practitioners truly fit this year's parade theme:
"Let there be peace on earth." It is estimated that 150,000 to 200,000 people lined the three-mile course of
the parade. Out of over 90 parade entries, we were awarded second place for our
float. The long day concluded with group sharing and everyone sending righteous
thoughts together.
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