(Clearwisdom.net) Ritterhude is a small town near Bremen. Many people who work in Bremen live in Ritterhude. Previously, Falun Gong practitioners had not found a good opportunity to tell as many people of Ritterhude as possible about Falun Gong and the truth about the persecution, as there wasn't a regular marketplace or anything similar where a table with information could be placed, and where practitioners could mingle with the locals.
The annual "Hammefestival," which took place this year between September 3
and September 5, provided such an opportunity. For three days, the people of
Ritterhude got together for a lantern-walk, fireworks display, music,
information booths and flea market.
The Northern Germany Falun Gong practitioners' information booth was at the end
of the mile-long walk. The banner displayed in large German and Chinese letters,
"Falun Gong," and could be seen by approaching cars and walkers from far away.
With only short notice, the organizers re-assigned the practitioners to this place. The practitioners soon realized what a great location they had been assigned, as those participating in the lantern walk on Friday evening would gather at this location to watch the fireworks. They contacted each other in a hurry and put up the information booth early on Friday afternoon. Therefore, they could hand out a lot of informational materials that evening to those attending. One-to-one discussions with people were made possible on Saturday, as the festival attendees had time for leisurely walks past the booth.
Children and young people were really interested in the exercises, which were shown continuously. At times there were between six and seven children concentrating on learning the exercises, while friends and siblings watched attentively. Youngsters also had their first experience with the peaceful and simple movements. Some children were remarkable in learning the movements, and took to them immediately and soon sat there peacefully. They returned the next day to practice again.