Chinese Lanterns

In Saint Louis children learn the word arch earlier than anywhere else in the country. It helps to have a cultural icon downtown. This post’s title is kid talk overheard. One older boy explaining things to a younger one. We were all touring the Chinese Lantern Festival at the Missouri Botanical Gardens. In Saint Louis this was the biggest cultural event of the summer. We reprised visited the exhibit last night.

In a multi-cultural sense, I don’t know who should be more offended by this kid’s statement, the Buddhist or the Christians. I hope neither. Here is a young boy that is able to draw a line between his Christian upbringing and other people’s beliefs. Twenty years from now, when he is a functioning adult, he has the Gardens to thank for this.

Thirty plus years ago, when I first landed in the Lou, my engineer brethren bemoaned the Garden’s multiculturalism. Back then they railed against the then new Japanese Gardens. In hindsight these recriminations and the original five-million dollar civic outlay seem puny.

Through plant science and market economics , the Gardens and their partners have spearheaded agriculture growth. This festival builds a new bridge with an important new trading partner. It is all good for Saint Louis.