An Alternative Holiday Gift — Maybe the Best One

An Alternative Holiday Gift — Maybe the Best One
(Google Plus/Shen Yun Official Account)
Arthur Zhang
12/24/2017
Updated:
12/24/2017

During the holiday season, not only Santa has gifts to give people around the world, so do many other people. But what gifts to choose? Gift cards, chocolate, flowers, toys, books or even cash---all these are great holiday gifts. Some gifts bring people happiness, some have health benefits, and some create lasting memories for families and friends.

Are you looking for a unique gift that has all these characteristics? If so, Shen Yun Performing Arts tickets should be at the top of your list. Many Shen Yun fans consider Shen Yun tickets as the perfect holiday gifts.

Every year Shen Yun tours the world from December to early May. In 2017, there were more than 100,000 audience members in Southern California who watched Shen Yun.

Unfortunately, I missed it, because I was in the military training in the US Air Force. It was in May when I graduated, and at that time Shen Yun had only two remaining performances in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. So I flew from Los Angeles to Pittsburgh to see it. Was I crazy? Absolutely not. There have been audience members who have even flown in from Asia just for this show.

What makes Shen Yun so attractive and powerful?

“It is something so beautiful. It is elegant,” author Avia Belle Moon from Santa Barbara said in 2016 after the second time she watched Shen Yun. “It is very touching for me, when I see this. I get so emotional, because there is a purity here.” Quite a lot of audience members have the same feelings.

Some other audience members said Shen Yun makes them very comfortable.

“The performance was so magnificent that my whole body seemed to be cleansed. I feel my body is especially relaxed and comfortable. Even the pain in my waist is gone,” said cosmetic company owner Youko Watanabe after she watched Shen Yun in Tokyo on Jan. 30, 2017. Is it possible? Watching a show can heal people’s pain? Chinese medicine may provide some insight into this.

According to Shen Yun composer Gao Yuan, music and medicine are two sides of the same coin. In Chinese medicine, good music is used to lower blood pressure and reduce stress and anxiety. That’s why in the written Chinese language, the character for medicine is the same as the character for music, but with extra lines added---which stands for herbs.

(Google Plus/Shen Yun Official Account)
(Google Plus/Shen Yun Official Account)

​Shen Yun classical dances are accompanied by their unique live orchestra---the world’s first orchestra to successfully combine Eastern and Western musical traditions.

Maybe you are wondering about the meaning of Shen Yun’s name. Shen is a general term for a divine being, while Yun means rhythm and conveys a person’s entire bearing. Many people just say that Shen Yun means the beauty of divine beings dancing.

Every person has his or her own spiritual side. Many people believe or hope that there is heaven beyond our world, but they never saw it before. Shen Yun audience members are the lucky ones.

Documentary filmmaker Nathaniel Kahn said, “if heaven is the way we saw it tonight, count me in!” Me too!

Shen Yun 2018 will be touring 5 continents, covering 150 venues and counting.

Arthur Zhang is a veteran with a MA in History and National Security. He writes opinion articles for The Epoch Times.
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