United States: Falun Gong Practitioners Take Part in the San Jose Christmas Parade

On the morning of December 15th, 2004, the twenty-third San Jose Christmas Parade was held on Santa Clara Street in Downtown San Jose California. Among the more than one hundred groups participating in the parade, Falun Gong was the only Chinese-American group invited to be in this largest holiday parade in northern California. The NBC television network broadcast the parade live to million of viewers.

Falun Gong flag formation	Float

Exercise demonstration

Originating in 1981, the San Jose Christmas Parade has grown and flourished into one of the twenty-five largest parades in the U.S. It includes floats of holiday and mythology themes, and more than twenty bands. Every year, the parade marks the beginning of the Christmas season for San Jose.

Falun Gong practitioner Abraham said that this year's parade was great. "The United States is a country that believes in God. It has become a tradition in western culture. It is an American tradition for people in the community to get together to celebrate Christmas and commemorate Jesus' spreading of truth and saving people two thousand years ago."

Abraham could feel people's warmth. He said that the Falun Gong practitioners' procession touched people's hearts as they unfolded the beauty of Falun Dafa. "People could tell Falun Dafa was righteous and beneficial."

Waist-drum troupe	Traditional ethnic dance

Group picture of Falun Gong practitioners

Early in the morning, a reporter from a San Jose newspaper took pictures of the Falun Gong float. To support the parade, practitioners from Los Angeles drove their award-winning float to San Jose. Besides this elegant float, the Falun Gong procession also included a formation of flags of "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance," ethnic dance, lion-dance, colourful ribbon dance, lantern dance, and refreshing waist drum performance. The Falun Gong exercise demonstration, peaceful music, and bright costumes brought a unique atmosphere to San Jose's holiday.

When the procession passed centre stage, the host said to the spectators, "When I read the words 'Falun Dafa,' I could feel the peace these words bring to your heart. Let's welcome Falun Dafa!"

Ms. Zhang said Falun Gong practitioners had worked hard and contributed much effort to this parade. The costumes, props, and composition of every dance was prepared by Falun Gong practitioners themselves in their spare time. They are very talented people from all parts of society, including engineers, doctors, and professors, and they would like to let more people learn about Falun Gong.

Abraham said they would also like to show the Chinese spectators how great Falun Gong is and how the persecution of Falun Gong by the Chinese government was against peoples' wills. Jiang's regime is destroying the most beautiful thing that people should have. He hoped Jiang would be brought to justice and people all over the world would become aware of the benefits of Falun Dafa, and share the most beautiful Chinese traditional culture. It would be a glory in Chinese history.