Nanterns
Saturday night I invested in two tickets to a musical, non-verbal performance geared toward foreigners near Seoul 's City Hall. The production of Nanta has been open since 2000 and will continue through 2010, accolades including being performed on Broadway. Upon arrival at the Nanta Theatre, we noticed foreigners of all different ages, shades, shapes and sizes. Being that the show is about cooking, outside there was an appropriate welcome: a life-size piece of artwork made from pots and pants and other kitchen equipment. We had our picture taken by some Japanese tourists in front of the theatre before heading inside and appropriately thanked them in their native tongue, probably one of the 5 words we know in that language. The cast, a myriad five people including only one female, had a very bubbly and funny demeanor that allowed the quaint audience of about 200 people to be entertained for a full 2 hours. The "goal" of the performers was to have a wide-ranging menu prepared by 6pm, but all along the way they ran into problems, including a moronic and inexperienced new cook who was favored over one of the more experienced chefs by the Maitre d'. There was audience participation and plenty of laughs. There were children as well as elderly. The theatre was pretty small, so there were really no bad seats in the house, which for our Saturday 8pm showing, was pretty packed. After our cultural experience, we headed to the foreign section of town to help a friend celebrate his birthday at Bonji's Bistro. It 's a cute, two-story restaurant with low tables for floor seating and pillows all around for everyone 's comfort. There were two live musicians on the first floor playing guitar and singing some oldies —we really loved it! They were wearing German army uniforms and looked pretty dirty, but they had talent!
Sunday was the celebration of Buddha 's birthday. I've had several friends looking forward to this for months! There was a festival of lanterns, though I 'm not sure about the history of its origin and what the relevance is of the lights, but a parade and lots of booths with all sorts of lantern-making and other activities followed. The best part? It was all FREE! We walked around and saw the temple that was drowning in lanterns of all different colors. (Pictures have already been emailed. Let me know if you didn 't receive). There were live bands and as far as the eye could see there were tents with information or activities. Face painting, nail decorating, mat making... all kinds of stuff!
This coming weekend is a long one, courtesy of Friday being for the Children. I'll spend it in Busan, checking out the parts of the city that wouldn't interest Sam, though I'm not sure yet what those will be. If the schedule allows, we'll check out the only U.N. cemetery in the world on Saturday. That evening, we'll attend an Army "Hail and Farewell" in Daegu to welcome the new officers and say goodbye to the departing ones. And somewhere in the midst of it all, I'll be studying!
Copyright 2006 Olivia R. Reed
Sunday was the celebration of Buddha 's birthday. I've had several friends looking forward to this for months! There was a festival of lanterns, though I 'm not sure about the history of its origin and what the relevance is of the lights, but a parade and lots of booths with all sorts of lantern-making and other activities followed. The best part? It was all FREE! We walked around and saw the temple that was drowning in lanterns of all different colors. (Pictures have already been emailed. Let me know if you didn 't receive). There were live bands and as far as the eye could see there were tents with information or activities. Face painting, nail decorating, mat making... all kinds of stuff!
This coming weekend is a long one, courtesy of Friday being for the Children. I'll spend it in Busan, checking out the parts of the city that wouldn't interest Sam, though I'm not sure yet what those will be. If the schedule allows, we'll check out the only U.N. cemetery in the world on Saturday. That evening, we'll attend an Army "Hail and Farewell" in Daegu to welcome the new officers and say goodbye to the departing ones. And somewhere in the midst of it all, I'll be studying!
Copyright 2006 Olivia R. Reed
posted by LSULiv | 3:07 PM
1 Comments:
The focus of Lotus Lantern Festival is undoubtedly 'Lantern Parade' consisted of 100,000 lanterns and huge floatings symbolizing Buddhist icons including white elephant, guardians, dragon(flame throws from the mouth), pea-cock, Cute Boy and Girl, smiling Buddha and etc.
The Lotus Flower is a well known symbol of Buddhism. This flower has two meanings. First, the lotus flower blossoms in mud ponds, but it is not tainted and keeps its purity always. It is like Buddha and Bodhisattvas, who lived in the world but remained pure. Second, it bears a flower and fruit at the same time. It reflects the law of cause and effect. Therefore, when Buddhists act in everyday life, they keep in mind that their actions are followed by results.
The Lotus Lantern Festival, celebrating the birth of Buddha, dates back to the Three Kingdoms Period (57 B.C. - A.D. 676). During the Goryeo Dynasty (918 - 1392), when Buddhism was the state religion, colorful lanterns were strung and festivities were held across the country from palaces to small villages. This traditional festival is enjoyed by all today.
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