(Clearwisdom.net) On February 4, 2006, the annual Chinese New Year celebration was held in Seattle's Chinatown. Falun Gong practitioners were invited for the third year to participate and perform onstage as one of twelve groups of performers.

Practitionersbooth eye-catching

Practitioners brought delicate hand-made paper lotuses to distribute to the visitors at the celebration. Many people came to ask for truth-clarification materials and the lotus flowers. A Western gentleman who had never heard of Falun Gong before came over to learn the facts. A practitioner told him all about Falun Gong and how the practitioners in China are being persecuted. The man said that he was going to visit China for six months and wanted to know more about the persecution. He accepted a lot of truth clarification literature, including the United Nations Human Rights Report. He thanked the practitioner when he left.

One woman who knew about Falun Gong came by to ask for updated information. The practitioners distributed informational flyers in the hall and other places around the New Year celebration. They noticed that many people, both Chinese and Western, were pleased to accept the truth-clarification literature.

Practitionersperformance won acclaim

The stage performance was the focus of the celebration. The performers included children, youth, and adults from China, South Korea, Japan, the Philippines, India and Hawaii. The practitioners stage a new program every year. A professional photographer who took photos of the practitionersprocession in a parade in north Washington State was moved by the practitionersperformance, and after much effort, she located a practitioner and came to the New Year's celebration to take photos of the performance.

The first dance was "Little Lion at Heaven's Gate," which won warm applause. The dance described the little lion's process of learning to roll and stand up. When the lion was able to stand on two feet, a banner worded, "Falun Dafa is great" came out of his mouth.

Five practitioners conducted a Falun Gong exercise demonstration onstage. Before the demonstration, a 77-year-old Chinese practitioner narrated his experience of practicing Falun Gong, describing how he obtained good health after recovered from a 20-year illness. A 22-year-old western practitioner and a 12-year-old Chinese high-school student also shared their experience of benefiting from the practice.

Several women practitioners performed the dances, "Flower Deity" and "Lotus," both of which caught the attention of the audience. A local spectator said, "Wonderful!" After the performance, the performers scattered lotus flowers to the audience and brought the celebration to a climax.