After years of badly wanting to go, I finally got a chance to attend the National Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington, D.C. We left on a last-minute (and poorly-planned) whim Friday evening and returned Sunday night. We were extremely fortunate to have had a free weekend just when the blooms were at their peak, and it was absolutely amazing. It’s kind of hard to imagine without being there, but for a few days out of the year, a huge portion of our Nation’s capital turns pale pink. Hundreds of thousands of people come to the festival each year (more than a million by some estimates).
The Japanese Cherry Trees (Sakura trees) in Washington were a gift in 1912 from Mayor Yukio Ozaki of Tokyo to celebrate the friendship between Japan and the United States. The initial gift was of around 3000 trees and was reciprocated a few years later with a gift of flowering dogwood trees. The festival was first held in 1935, but it was suspended just a few years later during World War II. It was restarted in 1947, once America’s relationship with Japan had improved. More trees were given to the US in 1965. The US was able to return the favor in 1981, when a flood destroyed many of Japan’s Yoshino Cherry Trees. Cuttings were taken from the cherry trees in Washington and taken back to be planted in Japan. These Cherry Trees are an important symbol of femininity, beauty, and the fleeting nature of life in Japanese culture. They are not, however, fruit trees, as are the Cherry trees that most Americans think of.
The festival is absolutely amazing. Not only were the cherry trees in full bloom, but so were the daffodils, some of the tulips, magnolia trees, and apple trees. While it rained all weekend here at our home in Hodges, South Carolina, it was a beautiful weekend in Washington. It was a little overcast, but the bluer light just highlighted the sea of white and pink blossoms surrounding the entire tidal basin. I’ve never seen so many kites as there were flying above the Mall. While we didn’t have much time to visit the museums, spending a beautiful day walking around Washington in the peak of the Cherry Blossoms just can’t be beat. I’m putting a few of the pictures I took up here on the blog. Be kind, though; I’m a writer, not a photographer!
