Another Winter Games has officially come to a close, which means another closing ceremony has come and gone.
In each ceremony, there are moments of entertainment, celebration and reflection.
The "Moment of Remembrance" is a very important part of the Olympic Games' Closing Ceremony, and for this year, the theme “A Willow Twig” presents the segment with Chinese characteristics.
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The willow twig is a part of the willow tree, and in Chinese, the character for the willow tree is a homophone of the character liu, which means asking a person to stay when bidding farewell. Thus it symbolizes the sorrow of separation.
In ancient days, when two friends part, the traveling party will always receive a willow twig as a gift.
The athletes were met with success, disappointments and historic memories, but now it is time to depart.
For the closing ceremony of the Beijing Olympics, it was only fitting that the willow twig would be incorporated into the ceremony as the athletes depart to their respective countries.
The performers beautifully interacted with a LED floor to show imagery of the willow, one that showed the emotional symbolism of “a bittersweet goodbye."
Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics
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The theme of "one world, one family" continued to be evident through the Games as 365 different individuals all held a willow branch that represented “the unwavering spirit of remembering the departed through the 365 days of a year."
The stage then turned into a beautiful shade of green, which was a symbol of the shifting of past negativity into the blossoming of a new day.
