Cherry Blossoms

It's embarrassing, but it's "thanks" to the 2020 lockdown that I even got aware of the beauty that cherry, magnolia and other blossoms bring. Prior to that I enjoyed spring in general, but didn't pay close attention.

So four years ago when schools were closing with pretty much no notice and no assignments, Colin and I set up our own plan and committed to researching a different country every day: hear music, cook food, look at pictures, learn about what animals live there, etc. 

On March 19, 2020, we covered Japan by ordering sushi and venturing to a park where we enjoyed the blooming trees. 

Cherry blossom trees are a symbol of Japan. Some people even refer to the cherry blossom as Japan's unofficial national flower. The Japanese school year begins in April, during the cherry blossom season. The blossoms symbolize happiness, love and spring. 

Because they only bloom for such a short time, cherry blossom trees also symbolize human mortality. They remind us how short and precious life is.

Let me use this opportunity to send hugs and good vibes to our common blogging friend Martha, who lost her husband of 59 years just this past weekend and to honor our fellow blogger Roy,  who was already struggling with serious health problems during our January Challenge, has also passed away.

May they both rest in peace.

What are reasons for such a short blooming period of cherry blossoms?

Genetics: Cherry blossom trees are programmed genetically to bloom for a short period as part of their reproductive cycle. This ensures that they flower when conditions are favorable for pollination and seed production.

Environmental Factors: The blooming period of cherry blossoms is highly dependent on environmental conditions, particularly temperature and weather. A sudden change in temperature, frost, or heavy rainfall can disrupt the blooming process and cause the flowers to wither prematurely.

Pollination: Cherry blossoms rely on pollination by insects, particularly bees, to produce fruit and seeds. The short blooming period aligns with the peak activity of pollinators, ensuring successful pollination within the limited time frame.

Resource Allocation: Trees need to allocate resources efficiently to support various stages of growth and reproduction. By blooming for a short period, cherry blossom trees can conserve energy and resources for other essential functions like leaf growth, photosynthesis, and root development.

Avoiding Competition: Cherry blossoms often bloom in early spring, a time when many other plants are also flowering. By blooming for a short period, cherry blossom trees reduce competition for pollinators and increase the likelihood of successful reproduction.

All in all, I'll say cherry trees are pretty smart! It's up to us to catch them at the exact right time. Makes for some tough planning though.

Every year, the Japanese - and I ;-) - follow the development of the blossoming cherry trees. They call it sakura zensen, the cherry blossom front. With the warmer weather, the blossom slowly moves north. It starts in Okinawa in January and reaches Kyoto and Tokyo in early April. 

When the cherry trees bloom in each region, the Japanese celebrate Hanami. This is the tradition of having a picnic under a cherry blossom tree in bloom. This tradition goes back many centuries. It is a time of festivals and celebrations in honor of the cherry blossom.

We don't live in Japan though. Is there any special connection between East Asia and Switzerland where cherry trees are concerned?

I'm glad you asked ;-)

In the 1960s, Japanese farmer and beekeeper Yoshiyuki Urata came to Switzerland to study agriculture. He was impressed by our punctuality and work ethics. Also the people he met here, helped to raise money so he could fund an agricultural school back in Japan. As a token of his gratitude he sent 100 Somei Yoshino trees to the Rosengarten Park in Bern, which is our Capital. 

These wonderful cherry trees were getting old and beginning to flower less. This is why the Japanese prefecture of Nara decided to send over seedlings for young cherry trees. I made it there on Easter Monday of 2023, which is a bank holiday in Switzerland.It was absolutely magical!

By the way, Sakura is the Japanese name for cherry blossom trees. Cherry blossom trees are different from other cherry trees. The main difference is that cherry blossom trees do not bear fruit. Instead, they bloom every spring with beautiful pink or white flowers. 

This year I had an opportunity to go back.Isn't the view through the branches of the cherry trees to the old town lovely?

In the meantime I have an entire list of places to go during cherry blossom season. The Northwestern part of my canton (state) as well as the city where Colin trains, are famous for their cherries. If / when I can, I try to soak up the wonderful vibes. 

Speaking of Zug, Colin's hockey town, here's a nice tradition I'd like to share, it's called Chriäsisturm, Cherry Storm:

It goes back to the 1700s: In early summer, as soon as the cherries were ripe, the largest bell - the Chriesiglogge - of St. Michael's Church used to ring for a quarter of an hour at noon. All Zug residents then had the right to rush to the Allmend with ladders and baskets to pick cherries. 

Allmend is land or resources that are used and managed jointly by a community, usually a village community.

At that time, a large part of Zug's Allmend was planted with cherry trees, which were owned by the citizens of Zug. 

"D'Chriäsigloggä lüütet, dä Chriäsisturm goht los!" could be heard loudly through the alleyways.  (The cherry clock rings, the cherry storm is launched.)

 Picking cherries before the bell rang was strictly forbidden, and the town stationed its own "cherry guards" on the Allmend, who kept watch day and night in the weeks before. Caught cherry thieves were fined or locked up in the Zytturm prison.

Pictures and a video about this fun custom can be found on an old-ish blog post of mine.

Since my blogversary always comes up at the end of June, I typically celebrate with some cherry themed baked goods. Over the course of almost 12 years now, I've accumulated quite the collection ;-) The recipe for these muffins can be found here.

Do you like cherries? Would you storm to the public orchard, or are you fine with just enjoying the blooms?