In order to celebrate the first World Falun Dafa day, which is also the eighth anniversary of Master Li Hongzhi's teaching, the New Zealand practitioners had been preparing since 4th of May, to advertise the event including a commentary of history and activities, on both the Chinese and English newspapers, and the practitioners had personally sewn and printed two large banners with 'World Falun Dafa Day 13th May' written in both Chinese and English languages.
Owing to the fact that New Zealand is the first country in the world to witness the sunrise, therefore the practitioners in Auckland had chosen the Mission Bay with its popular beach and the adjacent hill at Bastion Point to be the location of our promotional activities. As early as 6:30 am, a group of 50 to 60 Asian and Caucasian practitioners had made their way up the hill at the Bastion Point under the dimly lit pre-dawn sky, braving the morning mist and strong sea wind to reach the Michael Joseph Savage Memorial Park at the hilltop. At around 7:10 am, accompanied by the harmonious Falun Dafa music, the practitioners welcome the beginning of a new day and the first light that shone on the New Zealand shore, and to celebrate the First World Falun Dafa Day.
We then proceeded to the popular Mission Bay Beach to begin our day-long promotional activities. The weather forecast had predicted an occasional rain for the day. However, we only had a brief shower during our morning meditation practice. After that the weather was lightly overcast with sunny spells. It was as though the sky had clear up simply to cater for our promotional activities. Overall it was an enjoyable and meaningful day.
