This weekend when I walked by Tiananmen Square just after 5pm, many people had gathered around the flagpole. They were waiting for it to be taken down.
We asked what time that would be.
7pm.
Two hours to wait for a flag to be lowered?
But apparently it's the flag raising ceremony that gets an even bigger audience. People young and old, and those visiting from other parts of the country flock to the square, spending the night and then at the crack of dawn watch the formal procession of soldiers as they put the flag on the flagpole and send it flapping into the wind.
It's considered a small patriotic gesture a Chinese citizen could do.
I have yet to witness this spectacle.... and hope to eventually!
Posts
1 comment:
when i was in primary school in china many decades ago we have a flag raising ceremony every morning. we gather in the field outside school building, stand in attention and sing the national anthem. the boy scouts will salaute to the flag and play the bugle. afterwards the head teacher willl give a little pep talk on different subjects of morality, be it patiotism , love of the family, trust among friends etc. it was quite a good way to indoctrinated the young minds to build them into good citizens. the lack of such a practice in north america may be responsible for the moral decay of the youngsters nowadays .
Post a Comment