... captivated: the cherry blossoms

... captivated: the cherry blossoms

Last weekend, my in-laws were visiting from Virginia Beach. After lunch at our favorite restaurant, we attended the Sunday mass at our parish church. Then we toured Washington D.C. Again. It was the last weekend for Cherry Blossom Festival. Every year, people from all over flock to Washington D.C. to get a glimpse of these flowering trees. We have lived in the area for four years now and haven't been to one of these flower viewings. So, on a cold windy rainy afternoon, my family adopted yet another tradition. Amidst the soft howling wind and tiny pattering raindrops, we gathered in awe as we view the flowering trees. Some are nearly pure white, tinged with the palest pink, especially near the stem. Some are large, thick with rich pink petals. There are branches that fall almost kissing the ground from where it sprouts, bearing cascades of pink flowers. All the cherry blossom trees were lovely as they can be, we cannot soon pick a favorite. One caught my attention, it's nearly white from top to bottom. It was my favorite of all of them. Me and my husband stood under it while my sister-in-law snapped our picture. It looks like we were under a gigantic mass of cirrus clouds. We all had a great time. The couples were posing lovingly; the kids were just happy running amok playing with the petals that have covered the spring grounds. It's funny how a simple commune with nature could offer such warm feeling. Later on that evening, as my husband and I say our prayers for the night, I made a realization "... Life is like a cherry blossom tree ..." -- A cherry blossom tree has intense beauty and short survival span; although the delicate petals fall and scatter quickly (it briefly burst in springtime and it only takes a week to ten days before all of the blossoms are carried away by the wind), there always remain the optimistic hope for the coming of next year's spring; yet the witnessing of how great its beauty blossom and fall is deeply seeted in memory and lasts a lifetime... -- Life is also beautiful and fragile; with seasons of happiness and sadness, celebrations and sufferings, beginnings and ends, birth and death; with all our family, most friends, some acquaintances, and a few strangers as spectators of the different chapters of our journey, hopefully some have been touched and inspired by our very short passing in this world.

Here are some of our pictures. I've also included a brief summary of what Cherry Blossom Festival is all about (below).

Cherry Blossom Weekend Festival 2008

My family with Washington Monument behind us

with my son, Gee

with my daughter, Ree

touring with my in-laws

my dear husband

life is like a cherry blossom tree???

with my one and only love

the other man in my life

cousins getting playful with the branches

under my favorite cherry blossom tree

i will visit her again

West Potomac Park

The Tidal Basin

overlooking Washington D.C.

(from the Wikipedia Encyclopedia)

THE CHERRY BLOSSOMS

Sakura (Japanese kanji ; katakana; hiragana) is the Japanese name for cherry trees, and their blossoms. In English, the word "sakura" is equivalent to the Japanese flowering cherry, and their blossoms are commonly called cherry blossoms. Cherry fruit (known as sakuranbo) comes from a different species of tree.

HISTORY OF THE FLOWER VIEWING

During the Heian Period (794–1191), the Japanese nobility sought to emulate many practices from China, including the social phenomenon of flower viewing, where the imperial households, poets, singers, and other aristocrats would gather and celebrate under the blossoms. In Japan, cherry trees were planted and cultivated for their beauty, for the adornment of the grounds of the nobility of Kyoto, at least as early as 794. In China, the ume "plum" tree (actually a species of apricot) was held in highest regard, but by the middle of the ninth century, the sakura had replaced the plum as the favored species in Japan.

Every year the Japanese Meteorological Agency and the public track the sakura zensen (cherry-blossom front) as it moves northward up the archipelago with the approach of warmer weather via nightly forecasts following the weather segment of news programs. The blossoming begins in Okinawa in January and typically reaches Kyoto and Tokyo at the end of March or the beginning of April. It proceeds into areas at the higher altitudes and northward, arriving in Hokkaidō a few weeks later. Japanese pay close attention to these forecasts and turn out in large numbers at parks, shrines, and temples with family and friends to hold flower-viewing parties. Hanami festivals celebrate the beauty of the sakura and for many are a chance to relax and enjoy the beautiful view. The custom of hanami dates back many centuries in Japan: the eighth-century chronicle Nihon Shoki records hanami festivals being held as early as the third century CE.

HOW IT CAME TO THE UNITED STATES

Japan gave 3,020 sakura trees as a gift to the United States in 1912 to celebrate the nations' then-growing friendship. These trees have since lined the shore of the Tidal Basin in Washington, D.C. (West Potomac Park), and the gift was renewed with another 3,800 trees in 1965. The sakura trees continue to be a popular tourist attraction (and the subject of the annual National Cherry Blossom Festival) when they reach full bloom in early spring.

Also, Balboa Park of Los Angeles, California has 2,000 Sakura trees that blossom in mid to late March. The trees are located on Balboa Boulevard in Van Nuys, Los Angeles. Philadelphia is also home to over 2000 flowering Japanese cherry trees, half of which were a gift from the Japanese government in 1926 in honor of the 150th anniversary of American Independence, with the other half planted by the Japan America Society of Greater Philadelphia between 1998 and 2007. Philadelphia's sakura are located within Fairmount Park and the annual two-week Subaru Cherry Blossom Festival of Greater Philadelphia celebrates the blooming trees.

Other US cities have an annual Cherry Blossom Festival (or Sakura Matsuri), including the International Cherry Blossom Festival in Macon, Georgia, which features over 300,000 cherry trees. Belleville, Bloomfield and Newark, New Jersey has an annual Cherry Blossom Festival which attracts thousands of visitors from the local area and Korea, Japan and India. It is in the Branch Brook Park. This festival usually takes place on the 2nd to the 3rd Sunday in April. The Newark Cherry Blossom festival has many Japanese cultural and musical events, as well. The Brooklyn Botanic Garden in New York City also has a large, well-attended festival.