Lantern Parade the Culture of Taizhou

Ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon!

It’s my honor to give a speech about Taizhou’s culture. I’ll mainly talk about the Lantern Parade on Lantern Festival.

Taizhou, nestled between the cities of the Wenzhou and Ningbo, is a vibrant city in Zhejiang province. The Lantern Parade demonstrates the passionate and energetic life of Taizhou people. On that day, villagers take out their sacrificial offerings and place them in front of their houses to pray for the good. During the parade at night, performers wear red festival dresses, dancing with lanterns of varies shapes, such as those of dragons, horses, little kids, and so on. Marching along the street, the parade was surrounded by enthusiastic villagers, and the performers are chaored by the deafening sound of the firework. The grand parade, along with the table-full offerings and the gorgeous firework, makes every corner of the village filled with the flavour of the year.

Looking back onto my childhood, I enjoyed every chance to participate in the Lantern parade. After savouring grandma’s sweet brown sugar dumplings, the parade kicked off with the first sound of the firework. We stood against the door, watching the reddening light enveloping the growing crowds. Finally, at the end of the street came the parade. Who came first were some guys beating gongs. The nearby houses were thumping by the strike of the sound. Next was the dragon dance, which was bound to be my favorite performance. A line of performers rotated their rod to manipulate the dragon into rolling or leaping. Dragon chased away the darkness, making the coming year strong and mighty. Following that were the lanterns of the emperor’s car, innocent children and the twelve Chinese zodiac signs. The parade ended with the silly crazy horse lantern running in a frenzy.

The lantern parade left a lasting impression in my memory and was eternally engraved in my life. I will be dedicated to learning the Taizhou’s lantern culture, pass it on and carry it forward in the future!

That’s all. Thanks for listening.