(Clearwisdom.net) On January 25, 2004, Falun Gong practitioners participated for the third time in the Edison Chinese New Year Parade sponsored by the Chinese Festival Association in New Jersey. Three years ago, Falun Gong practitioners' application for participating in the parade was met with obstacles and misunderstanding. But the second and the third times, they received high praise from the organizing committee and the spectators.
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| Exercise demonstration on the float | Drummers in the parade | Falun Dafa booth |
At the front of the Falun Dafa contingent were banners reading "Happy New Year" and "Falun Dafa is good." Following them was a beautifully decorated float and then the group of drummers. At the end of the group was the banner reading "The world needs 'Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance.'" The whole contingent was spectacular and harmonious, attracting many people to take photos.
The weather was extremely cold, about 14 degrees F. The Falun Gong group was specially placed to be the grand finale of the parade by the organizing committee because of the Falun Gong group's wonderful performances in the previous two parades, so the practitioners had to wait for quite a long time in the cold before each group in front of them finished its performance. But practitioners were still in high spirits and full of energy. They gave a wonderful performance in front of the presiding stage, and won warm applause from officials and the audience.
Practitioners also set up a booth to allow more people to learn the truth about Dafa. During the activity, the practitioners took the initiative to help the organizing committee to make preparations, and to take down the tents after the crowd of people left. They expressed that they were happy to be able to help out.
Through such an activity, the practitioners displayed to the public the goodness of Falun Dafa and our benevolent and peaceful demeanor from the cultivation of "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance." In addition, by actively participating in the parade and helping the organizing committee solve problems, we got together with the Chinese communities in various ways so as to offer more people an opportunity to get to know us. Each time, the people in charge of the organizing committee thanked us for our participation and help.
