"The sun sets but rises tomorrow as it always has. Time passes as the stars move, and youth flies away and back with the flapping of a bird's wings, writing a love song."

Speaking and telling stories in Chinese are often the best way parents overseas can pass along Chinese culture to their children. Finding some way to transmit this legacy that involves a happy departure from the norm can often bring unexpectedly good results.

Years ago such an opportunity presented itself. A local church provided space and teachers so that foreign women could learn English every Thursday. Most of the women in my circle of friends had pre-school children. Offering a chance to study English and free child-care, these classes were very well attended. Soon, not only the mothers, but the children too, became good friends.

Before Christmas, the church would always hold special services. Besides American programs, women from a variety of countries would adeptly put on programs representative of their nation's culture. The first year we did the customary modeling of classical Chinese women's clothing, which met with great approval. But for the second year's program, we racked our brains trying to think about what to perform. We couldn't just give up, because we didn't want to miss out on an opportunity to introduce Chinese culture. And because we had enjoyed free English classes, we felt that performing was a good way to give something back to the church.

After several days of discussion, we decided to dance "The Song of Youth." We reckoned that tapping on tambourines to its beat would lessen our stage fright and also that the light and happy melody of the song would help to raise our spirits. Next we had to decide upon the choreography. Putting our heads together, we pieced together steps from memory, and after several practice sessions, had an entire dance.

It wasn't until two days before the performance that we decided upon our clothes. We took stuff we wore around the house and adorned it with colored stickers and sequins. The hats were of paramount importance, for once we donned them, the ethnic color was much more apparent. And so we cut up waste cardboard and pasted it together to make the basic hat shapes, which we then decorated with colored pens. With everything ready, we were very excited about the next day's performance.

The lively and beautiful "Dance of Youth" turned out to be the highlight of the evening's program, and the audience laughed and applauded vigorously. This response to our hard work left us with a great feeling of accomplishment.

While we mothers were performing, the children sat in front of the stage and looked on attentively. Watching their mothers dance, sing, make hats and model clothing day after day, they grew very familiar with "The Song of Youth." When their mothers stepped off stage, the children couldn't wait to put the hats on their own heads and imitate our dance steps and gestures. When Margery, the woman from the church who was arranging the event, saw these Chinese kids' cute imitations, she immediately started clicking away with her camera, capturing images of the beauty of true youth.

After the performance, mothers would at unexpected moments in their own living rooms see their children dance and gesture gracefully, as their heads nodded along with the beat that they hummed or sung themselves.

Hearing one's own child sing the incomplete lyrics of how the sun sets and rises the next morning as always, it was hard not to feel that youth does indeed return. In front of Mama, the new face of youth was jumping, swinging its arms and dancing. It was right there in front of you!

（left） Having just stepped on stage, they're a bit nervous. Can you tell?