Toronto: Falun Dafa Practitioners Hold Lunar New Year Celebration

By Dafa practitioners in Toronto, Canada

On January 29, 2003, Falun Dafa Association and Friends of Falun Gong Association held a Lunar New Year Celebration at St. Lawrence Market Complex in Toronto. Over 1700 citizens attended. Falun Gong practitioners in Toronto wished to celebrate the arrival of the New Year, and at the same time, express thanks through the celebration to people in all social strata in Toronto for their support and help for Falun Gong practitioners during the previous year. They also wanted to let more Chinese people learn the truth about Falun Gong and witness the peaceful and harmonious demeanour of Falun Gong practitioners.

Falun Dafa practitioners began holding such New Year celebrations with people in all social strata during the 2000 Chinese Spring Festival, where over 400 people attended. This year, Falun Dafa practitioners offered free admission, prepared wonderful performances and an abundant dinner. There were about 250 courses of food prepared by Toronto Falun Gong practitioners from Mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

At the celebration, several elected representatives from the legislative Assembly expressed their support and congratulations to Falun Gong practitioners. George Smitherman, the first Member of Provincial Parliament who stood up to support Falun Gong, said that he would follow "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance" as the guide of his life, and he was happy and hoped to attend more such activities. Member of Provincial Parliament Michael Prue said, "Besides congratulating the Chinese people on the year of sheep, I also come to express my support for Falun Gong practitioners, telling them the Canadian people are with them." He was proud to support Falun Gong and called for an end to the persecution. Two diplomatic officials from the Consulate General of Romania in Toronto and the President of the Taiwanese Canadian Association of Toronto, Mr. Ronald Wu also came to extend their congratulations.

The celebration site	Pantomime composed and performed by Michael

Performances were diversified and wonderful, including traditional Chinese programs such as singing, dancing in folk and traditional costumes. Western Falun Gong practitioners performed songs including "Coming for You." A Western practitioner--a famous Canadian actor--performed a pantomime composed and directed by himself. Together with several Chinese practitioners, he displayed to the audience a Western young man's journey of life: from a life full of puzzles and perplexity to a new life through practicing cultivation in Dafa. After learning that his fellow practitioners in China suffered persecution because they cultivated "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance," he took to the streets to distribute flyers to tell people the truth about the persecution. In the end, he went to China to tell the precious Chinese people that the Western people cherish Falun Gong. He walked on Tiananmen Square and shouted out loud from the bottom of his heart, "Falun Dafa is Great!" The pantomime concluded with him crying out from his bottom of his heart, which won applause from all audience members.

Some predestined people viewed the wonderful performances and at the same time tasted the abundant and delicious foods of their hometowns, and shared experiences with many friends that they had not met for quite a long time. In the harmonious atmosphere, together they greeted the arrival of the New Year.