Spring Blooms

Each spring, people in Japan celebrate the blooming cherry trees.They have been doing this for thousands of years. The trees are called sakura (sah-koo-rah). Their pink and white blossoms are symbols of hope and renewal.

These cherry trees are in bloom in Fuji, Japan. The blossoms (inset) can be pink or white.

Today, people enjoy these blossoms in the United States. But cherry trees didn’t always grow in the U.S. They arrived as a gift from Japan. It began as the idea of two Americans. They believed cherry trees would beautify Washington, D.C. That was more than a hundred years ago.

Cherry Trees Come to the U.S.

David Fairchild visited Japan in 1902. He bought more than 100 of the trees for his yard. He later planted more in his town. It was near Washington, D.C. Fairchild promoted the idea of planting the trees around the city.

A Japanese print from 1830 shows cherry trees.

Eliza Scidmore had long wanted cherry trees to be planted there. In 1909, she wrote a letter to First Lady Helen Taft.

Cherry trees line the paths near the Washington Monument, in Washington, D.C.

Taft agreed with planting sakura in Washington, D.C. So did President William Howard Taft. He felt the trees would show friendship with Japan.

The mayor of Tokyo, Japan, offered to donate the trees. But the first trees arrived filled with bugs. They could not be planted.

In 1912, Japan donated thousands more trees. These healthy trees were planted on March 27.

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Celebrating Spring

In 2024, crowds gather for the Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington, D.C.

Every year, millions of people visit Washington, D.C., to see the blossoms. The city hosts a cherry blossom festival between March and April. There are parades and kites. The festival is a chance to celebrate these symbols of friendship and hope.