花見（ビデオ）

The blossoming of sakura is the most important event in Japan, which symbolizes the coming of spring. In the beginning sakura–the flower of cherry, here had the idea of life being delicate and ephemeral: like sakura life is short and not stable. The Japanese appreciate this little performance staged by the nature, where the heroines are the cherry-trees crowned with flowers so much, that they treat this phenomenon as a national holiday and call it Hanami (O-Hanami).
On these days all the parks, squares and Buddhist shrines are more crowded than ever. The opportunity to participate in this miracle of nature and to appreciate it brings there the Japanese, as well as foreign tourists, who often visit Japan with the intention to see this scenery, do not want to lose a second. Even the power of darkness is not enough to defeat the interest of people, who appreciate the beauty. Therefore, with this purpose in the evening the cherry-trees are presented under an appropriate lighting, which spreads a unique miraculous and magical atmosphere in the territory.
Though Hanami is not considered an official holiday, it enjoys such a big and popular love that during these days even the most expecting news on TV is the blossoming of sakura in this or that part of the country.

It is worth mentioning that the tradition of Hanami comes from the ancient times, from the Heyan era. The representatives of the aristocracy and intelligentsia of that time gathered under the branches of blossomed cherry-trees, admired the scenery and stimulated the origination of philosophical thoughts. The result of this philosophy is the characterization of sakura as being ephemeral – the reflection of the shortage of life. This year the first blossoms of sakura appeared in Tokyo on March 21 and they will reach the peak of blossoming approximately on April 3.

Elen Hakobyan

http://ostarmenia.com/hy/latest-news-arm/hanami-2703/から取られた材料

translated from Armenian into English by M.Vardanyan