Lantern Festival: Celebrating Diversity

Lantern Festival: Celebrating Diversity

The Chinese lantern festival was created to honor the lives of the people that lost their lives on the 15th day of the Chinese New Year. The tradition has been carried from as early as the Han Dynasty to the present decade to create an element of unity and peace present in China after the event. The celebration has been observed in China and other Chinese nations over the years. However, with the increased migration to the western countries, the activity has been carried to other neighborhoods that are not necessarily Chinese. On the 21st of November, the event premiered in Orange County, California. I visited the event as I had enjoyed the games and the lantern presentation when I was growing up. Moreover, attending the event allowed me to be part of the ritual and advance the ceremony that means so much to the Chinese community as part of the new year celebration. The celebration was organized to honor the different generations of the Chinese immigrants to America as a sign of acceptance of the culture and ways of life of the group of people living in the community, thus acting as a cultural, diplomatic event to unify China and the United States.

The Lantern Festival was organized in America to recognize the culture of Chinese immigrants living in the United States in line with the main agenda of forgiveness, peace, and recognition. The Lantern Festival has been used as a period of forgiveness and reconciliation in the Chinese culture. The new year’s festivities in China have been characterization by the aspect of forgiveness, which was the defined theme in the recent festival in California. The recognition was established in the use of the designated symbols of dragons and arch used for the event. The structure of the event was focused on creating a safe space to share whilst having fun. The recognition of the culture was evident in the replication of the color and positioning of the lanterns in the venue. Other forms of ridable mystic creatures used in the venue illustrated the aspect of recognition of culture and acceptance. Based on the turn-up of the Chinese people and immigrants to the evidence that the representation of the culture was captured perfectly to represent the exact meaning of the festivities.

The event represented a form of public diplomacy. As the authors explain, public diplomacy is a form of the event, “which is the dialogue with foreign publics designed to inform and influence” (Cowan and Cull 02). In that, it is a form of the event created to ensure the overlapping cultures and needs of certain regions are represented. The Chinese Lantern Festival that started on the 21st of November, is a sign of public diplomacy. The event represented the Chinese culture as carried out in the home country in a foreign nation. The event showcased the culture that is growing in popularity as a sub-tribe in America. As a result, the event illustrated the merge between the Chinese cultures in the American region. The public diplomacy was evident in the event as people not only of Chinese descent but also other ethnicities in America visited and got to learn of the culture.

Moreover, the event was a public diplomacy event as it allowed the influence of the community towards acceptance. The authorization of the federal and state leadership for the event to take place to illustrate the more significant intent to make sure that people in the region and nationally to appreciate the diversity and influence people to live in harmony and peace. The event was welcoming to all and was advertised on different platforms, thus guaranteeing the message of unity and acceptance was passed to all members of the community. The use of colors and the beauty of the symbols in the community was used in the presentation of the intention of the diplomatic team in influencing the positive advancement of the community.

Based on the message communicated, the event was a cultural, diplomatic event. The use of lanterns and the symbolic representation of the dragon and other mystical creatures has been essential in Chinese culture. The features define the aspect of peace as it is believed to have saved groups of people from being killed by a mad king. In that, the lighting of lanterns saved the community from being destroyed by fire as they looked like fire. Therefore, the replication of the culture that has been practiced in China for decades is a sign of the transfer of the culture. As a result, the Chinese Lantern event in Orange County was used to communicate and influence the community culturally. Moreover, the use of the exact setting as the celebrations in China is a sign of the desire to represent the culture in a foreign place. As a Chinese immigrant, I was able to see the similarity and perfect representation of the culture.

The event was successful in influencing the community based on attendance. As I walked around the event, I was able to see people from different ethnicities and cultures, enjoying the culture and practices that have long been defined as Chinese. In that, the event which was based on traditional Chinese beliefs, food, and dances was open to a larger group of people who learned to appreciate the culture. The fundamental importance of public diplomacy is for the community to realize and be influenced by the culture of others to allows the current and future interactions to be more comfortable and friendly (Cowan and Cull 13). As a result, the activities and the advancement of the understanding witnessed in the festival illustrates a successful outcome for the organizers and community as a whole.

Going to the Chinese Lantern Festival was so captivating and intriguing. As a member of the Chinese community in California, the loss of identity can be felt from time to time. In that, one can be able to experience the Chinese festival in the venue and engage with the culture, unlike on other occasions. Attending the event, I was able to feel the aspect of diplomacy in the presentation of the culture in the accurate and best way. Overall, I was able to enjoy the event as it represented a culture that I treasure. Moreover, I was able to interact with more members of the Chinese community in America hence having the home feeling at the period of forgiveness and reconciliation.