Fig. 1: The Global People Daily News (GPDN), an independent international media, produced a special online program: "A Month of Joy and Gratitude." Amy, the hostess, invited friends from the United States, Myanmar, Taiwan, and Denmark to share stories about joy and gratitude in their home countries.

 

Nov. 15, 2021

 

November is a beautiful month. The earth is dyed golden yellow and the ears of rice are ripe everywhere. After the test of the pandemic of the century, it is even more meaningful that people can celebrate the harvest at this time. On November 15th, the independent international news media Global People Daily News (GPDN) produced a special online program: "A Month of Joy and Gratitude." Friends from the United States, Myanmar, Taiwan, and Denmark are invited to share stories about joy and gratitude in their home countries. We are hoping that you and us can recover from the initial throbbing of life.

 

Jason, who is from the United States, says Thanksgiving is a time for family gatherings when families from all over the world gather and each brings a dish to share with others. That day, the kitchen was chaotic, but it was also warm and welcoming.  When they share food on the table, the family looks back on the previous year together. Looking forward to the new year, the old and new generations exchange ideas that have stirred them. Jason believes that Thanksgiving makes him rethink his connection with others in his life.

Fig. 2: Jason from the United States believes that Thanksgiving causes him to rethink his relationships with others.

 

Nu Nu Tun is originally from Myanmar and now lives in California. She said that the lighting festival (Thadingyut) in Myanmar originated from the Buddha's preaching of "Abhidhamma" for his mother, Queen Maya, who was reborn from heaven, to show gratitude for motherhood. The festival holds on the full moon day of the seventh month in Myanmar's calendar, which is usually in the third week of October. On the day of the lighting festival, devout Buddhists will present flowers, and various lights will be lit up across the country to express gratitude and blessings as well as to eliminate disasters. Nu Nu Tun stated that the "veneration" of the lighting festival (Thadingyut) is not only for the Buddha and his teachings, but also for monks, parents, teachers and elder relatives. During veneration, people will confess their mistakes from the previous year to their parents or other older relatives and ask for forgiveness.

Fig. 3: Nu Nu Tun from Myanmar said that people expressed gratitude, blessings, and disaster relief during the lighting festival (Thadingyut), and also confessed to the elders and asked for forgiveness.

 

The program also presented Taiwan's famous Chishang Autumn Harvest Festival, which has been held in Chihshang for 13 years in a row since 2009 by the Chihshang Township Taitung County Culture and Art Association and the Lovely Taiwan Foundation.  This year, the internationally renowned Cloud Gate Dance Group and singer 9m88 were invited to perform together. Cloud Gate dancers can be seen in the video dancing with a light, easy movement or rhythm in the golden rice paddies, conveying the most direct vitality through their bodies in the changing light of the sky at Chihshang. The lazy, free, broad, and expansive voice of a singer, 9m88, weaves through the East Rift Valley and dances on stage with the students from Chihshang Junior High School, leading the audience to find the most primitive feelings of life and gratitude to heaven and earth amidst the mountains and rice waves. 

 

Fig. 4: Taiwan's famous Chishang Autumn Harvest Festival is a natural stage set up by heaven and earth, where people can reconnect with heaven and earth through dance and song. (Photographer: 劉振祥, Taiwan; provided by Lovely Taiwan Foundation)

 

Denmark's Lissie Brobjerg noted that since Viking times, Denmark has had a tradition of offering gifts to Frej, the Norse God of fertility. As Denmark became a Christian country, the Danes have various festivals to honor the saints, one of which is St. Michael's Day, which is celebrated on September 29th, when the harvest is celebrated. According to Lissie Brobjerg, the most important aspect of the Danish tradition of harvest and Mass is to give thanks and share the surplus with the poor in order for everyone to survive the long winter. Lissie Brobjerg also introduced two songs about harvest and thanksgiving. “The hay has been reaped” and “We ploughed and we sowed.”

Fig. 5: According to Lissie Brobjerg of Denmark, the most important aspect of harvest and mass celebrations in Denmark is to be grateful and care for the poor in order for everyone to survive the cold winter.

 

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the year 2021 will be a difficult year for the world, and it will also prompt people to examine their interactions with others or the environment around them. In any case, let us always be grateful to the world, reflect on our mistakes, kindly respect the world's different cultures and species, and coexist and prosper together.