Delaware, USA: Falun Gong Procession Draws Great Attention during the Christmas Parade in Wilmington

By practitioners from Delaware, USA

On November 29, 2002, Wilmington Jaycees annual grand Christmas Parade was held in Wilmington, the economic and transportation centre of the State of Delaware. Although it was cloudy, windy and chilly, with temperatures below freezing, thousands of local residents still enthusiastically gathered on both sides of the downtown streets to watch the largest and most lively parade of the year. Falun Gong practitioners' procession was strikingly beautiful among the more than one hundred parade entries. Along the route, practitioners' won rounds of applause and cheers. Local residents warmly waved toward them. It seemed that they truly felt the beauty of Falun Dafa.

"Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance" on the streets of Wilmington	Practitioners demonstrate Falun Gong exercises and perform "Dragon Dance."

Falun Dafa appeals to all ages, both young and old	practitioner from out-of-state said, "Although it is very cold, our hearts are warm"

Delaware's most influential newspaper, The News Journal, provides prominent coverage of Dafa practitioners' participation in the parade

A practitioner from another state said, "Although it is very cold, our hearts are warm."

Practitioners' parade procession was composed of three parts. A group of female practitioners dressed in colourful costumes of the Tang Dynasty performed a dance. A group of male practitioners followed them, performing lively dragon and lion dances. More than 60 practitioners dressed in bright yellow exercise suits marched behind and demonstrated the Falun Gong exercises. Before the parade, the biggest challenge for the practitioners was the cold weather. The Tang Dynasty costumes were made of fabric as thin as a cicada's wing. According to the weather forecast, the temperature for that day would drop to 23 degrees Fahrenheit, while the wind speed would reach to 15 to 25 miles per hour, and it was likely to snow. However, the ladies were not intimidated at all.

Video cameras were focused on Falun Gong

It seemed that Wilmington citizens had been waiting a long time to discover Falun Dafa. When practitioners were lined up in the parking lot getting ready for the parade, many people were anxious to stand by our side to look on.

As soon as the procession set off down the road, many cameramen rushed toward the practitioners. Along the parade route, Wilmington citizens showed their pleasant surprise and smiled at us. They warmly applauded. Some people even shouted loudly, "So beautiful!"

Meeting the director in charge of the Philadelphia holiday parades

The director of the Philadelphia holiday parades drove 40 minutes to attend the ceremony. The director highly praised Falun Dafa practitioners' beautiful performances and personally invited practitioners to join Philadelphia's holiday ceremonies, so that Philadelphia's citizens could also appreciate the beauty of Falun Dafa.

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(We received great support for this event from practitioners in New York City and Washington DC. We hereby express our sincere appreciation to them.)