Australia: Grand Christmas Parade in Western Australia, Falun Gong Procession Welcomed

On December 4th, 2011, the Grand Christmas Parade was held in both Perth and Fremantle, the two largest cities in Western Australia. Hundreds of thousands of spectators watched the parades despite a high temperature of 38.5°C (101°F). Falun Gong practitioners participated in the two parades, demonstrating the Falun Gong exercises and performing folk waist drums, the lion dance, and the fan dance.

Falun Gong practitioners’ procession in Perth included exercise demonstration, lion dance, and fan dance

Lion dance in the Perth parade

The parade in Perth was held in the morning, and the route went around Langley Park. It lasted approximately one hour. It was very hot, at 38.5°C (101°F). More than 150,000 people watched the parade on the spot. The Falun Gong practitioners’ procession included an exercise demonstration, a lion dance, and a fan dance. During the parade, the hosts introduced Falun Gong and the practitioners’ procession six times. The hosts praised the procession as being “very peaceful” and “very spiritual.”

Because the theme of this year’s parade was “Ocean,” the host called the practitioners’ lion dance a sea dragon. He complimented the procession’s eye-catching colours, and said, “The glowing banner, golden costumes, white shoes and socks, and the golden lion, just brilliant.” At the end of each introduction, he shouted “Falun Dafa hao (is good)!” invoking warm applause.

The parade in the port city of Fremantle, included Falun Gong practitioners performing waist drums and the lion dance. Fremantle is the most ancient and vibrant city in Western Australia. Its most famous festival is the Fremantle Festival, the longest in Australia, which lasts for more than two weeks. The Christmas parade is the peak of the festival. Most local residents come out to watch the parade. It was the third time the practitioners had participated in the parade. Along with the music “Falun Dafa is Good,” the practitioners performed the waist drums, bringing warm applause again and again.