UK: Practitioners Celebrate the First UK Falun Dafa Day with the People of Birmingham

On the 23rd of August, in order to celebrate the spread of Falun Dafa and let people know more about the persecution, the UK Falun Dafa Association declared the first UK Falun Dafa Day. Dafa practitioners from all over Britain and other European countries went to participate in the celebration activities held in Birmingham, the second largest city in Britain. A number of government officials and council members also sent letters of congratulations.

In Chamberlain Square beside Birmingham City hall, Dafa practitioners created and performed a show of dances and songs, with a demonstration of the Falun Gong exercises in between, to show the people the peace and beauty of Dafa as well as the benefits of practising Falun Dafa.

The square is surrounded by steps and is just like a small open-air theatre. Many people passed by and sat down on the steps to watch the show with great interest. When one item ended, the audience would express their gratitude with enthusiastic applause. Most of the performances had strong Chinese characteristics. For example, the lion dance was accompanied by the sound of side drums. In addition, the lotus dance performed by four practitioners also caught people’s attention. A reporter from the largest local newspaper took some pictures and conducted a short interview.

The passers-by were very fond of the practitioners’ performances and costumes. Two lovely young girls approached the practitioners who were resting after performing the lotus dance and asked, “Are you the Chinese angels?” The practitioners were moved by the children’s’ innocence and smiled. When some practitioners were on their breaks and practised the meditation, a lot of people stood around them and watched, taking photos and asking for leaflets so that they could find out more.

At three o’clock in the afternoon, a group of practitioners marched to the downtown area for another performance. They performed the lion dance with to the sound of a side drum as well as the Flying Lotus dance. They also demonstrated the exercises. Pedestrians soon crowded around them to watch the performance. Whenever each performance was finished, they would applaud enthusiastically. They were very interested when the practitioners demonstrated the exercises. When they received leaflets, they would ask about the locations of local practice sites and express their intention to learn Falun Gong.

The celebration ended after practitioners sent forth righteous thoughts with other practitioners all over the world. Indeed, a wonderful day came to a happy end. Dafa practitioners deeply believe that those people who witnessed the beauty and the truth of Dafa also had a meaningful day.

Translated from Chinese at http://www.yuanming.net/articles/200308/23681.html