Cherry Blossom Festival

Every weather report includes the cherry bloom tracking map.

Each year in April, South Korea’s many cherry trees come to life with bright white and pink flowers. The blossoms are not a symbol of national pride, as they are for the Japanese, but are dearly loved - crowds flock to the countries parks and gardens to enjoy the show.

The bad news for those that visited the nation’s capital for the first weeks of the annual Cherry Blossom Festival - the blossoms were not ready.

The cherry blossoms are almost gone, the blossoms turned to brown. Yet, the 100-year-old cherry blossom trees around the Tidal Basin in Washington made it to the beginning of the annual Cherry Blossom Festival—but only just.

The Cherry Blossom Festival has begun in Washington D.C., this year marking the 100th anniversary of the Capital’s cherry blossom trees that began as a gift of friendship between Japan and the United States.

When Japan’s Ambassador to the United States gave a presentation at the Heritage Foundation in Washington earlier this month, he acknowledged the anniversary of the devastating tsunami that had hit his country March 11 of last year.