On June 1, 2013, Falun Gong practitioners participated in Germany's 17th annual Carnival of Cultures, held in the City of Bielefeld. Around 2,000 participants and 70 ethnic groups from around the world performed before as many as 100,000 spectators.
Divine Land Marching Band |
Celestial maidens | Banners show the persecution in China |
Spectators enjoy the Falun Gong section of the parade |
Festival organizers arranged for the Falun Gong procession to occupy the last spot in the parade lineup so that the Divine Land Marching Band, consisting of about 80 practitioners from 13 countries, could serve as the “grand finale” to the wildly popular event.
Spectators snapped photo after photo of the band as it played pieces such as “Falun Dafa Is Good.”
Following closely behind the band was a beautifully decorated float with five practitioners atop demonstrating the exercises.
Next in line were 12 celestial maidens in pink, green, yellow, and blue costumes, with colorful ribbons hanging down their fronts. They wore tall headdresses and held white lotus flowers in their hands as they danced to the band's melodious music. They truly looked like angels from heaven. Some people appeared to be holding their breath, stunned. It truly was a feast for the eyes!
Some people asked why Falun Gong, which originated in China, is being persecuted in China. As they saw it, the practitioners had added a touch of magic to the parade by way of their music, costumes, dancing, and peaceful exercises.
An elderly German man kept applauding the Dafa procession, saying, “It’s great. Everything is great!”
A German woman asked: “Falun Gong is a meditation practice, isn't it?” adding, “I would like to learn it.”
“So beautiful, so beautiful, I like it all,” sighed an elderly woman. “Although I had heard about the persecution of Falun Gong, I had never understand why it's being persecuted!”
A German gentleman ran up one of the practitioners and asked, “Where can I learn Falun Dafa? I want to know more about it!” When he was told to do a search on the Internet, he said, “Good! I will do that when I get home.”
Several practitioners stationed at the Dafa booth answered questions about Falun Gong, distributed fliers, demonstrated the exercises, and clarified the facts.
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