The Japanese have a specific word devoted to describing the idea of picnicking under the cherry trees during blossoming season, hanami. It's intended to represent the reverence of viewing the much-celebrated blossoms, a practice that has existed for centuries.
Cherry blossoms immigrated to Japan several thousand years ago and spread throughout the country before the prehistoric age. Today there are 300 different varieties of cherry blossoms, or what the Japanese call sakua, due to centuries of hybridization.
The trees became popular during the Heian Period (794 to 1185) when emperors and the members of the Imperial Palace started hosting feasts under the trees while they were in bloom. The practice of celebration then moved through to the samurai and to the common people. Today, the parties are extremely popular with all the different members of Japanese society.
Throughout the changes in celebration, the tree has remained as a sacred and important cultural symbol in the country, and that tradition has not changed throughout the centuries.
Each year, the Japanese government forecast the blossoms, and the forecast is then analyzed and released to the public by the Japanese Meteorological Agency. The symbolism of the cherry blossom likely became so important to the Japanese resulting from the very short lifespan of the blossoms, which is only about two weeks.
Some examples of the symbolism include samurai and soldiers celebrating the blossoms as symbols of a life that was short and powerful, as their profession often made theirs, with early death common to the samurai.
They're also looked at as a symbol of female beauty, blossoming for a small amount of time before symbolically retreating as aging occurs.
The Japanese school year begins in April, coinciding with the bloom, seen as a sign of beginning a new stage of life.
Wednesday, the first cherry blossoms to bloom in Japan are on the island of Okinawa. People picnic under the trees, and lanterns are often hung at night, before the blossoming season moves north for the celebration to begin in the rest of Japan.
Cherry blossoms festivals now occur in the U.S. as well, especially in Washington, D.C., which has become known for the beauty of the cherry blossoms during bloom.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
