Life, death and regeneration
Japan is a country that never ceases to amaze us with its traditions and philosophy of living. Spring is coming, and we researched how it is welcomed in Japan :)
Every spring, when cherries bloom in Japan, family and friends gather to watch the crowns bloom together. They organize picnics, play and socialize under the pink vaults of flowers. This custom in Japan has a special name - hanami. The cherry pink flowers are really beautiful, but there is a deeper meaning behind the hanami ritual. The cherry blossom (sakura) is also a national symbol of Japan and is celebrated not only for its beauty, but also for its reflection of life, death and regeneration.
The Japanese celebrate the beauty, fragility and transience of life.
This ritual is a timeless metaphor of human life. The flowering season is magnificent and intoxicating, but tragically short. It’s a reminder that our lives are fleeting, too.
Why not celebrate the time given to us in the same way, with equal joy? Why don’t we enjoy life when we know it can end at any moment? Why don’t we enjoy the beauty and grace that surrounds us; in family, friends, nature, laughter? The Japanese are wondering all this, and the cherry blossom reminds them to pay attention again to all the good and beautiful in their lives.
The cherry blossom as the embodiment of beauty and mortality goes far back in time, but no one in Japanese history has better personified this metaphor than the samurai, feudal Japanese warriors who lived by the bushido principle, the "strict path of warriors", a strict moral code of respect, honor and discipline. . Their task was to mirror these values in their own lives, but also to appreciate the inevitability of death without fear because they could lose a life in any struggle.
Sakura has always symbolized the beginning of spring, a time of renewal and optimism. Flowers bring hope, new dreams and desires. When cherry blossoms are in full bloom, the future is teeming with possibilities.
Hanami is not an ordinary spring activity, but a national pastime with deep cultural and religious roots.
When the Japanese gather under cherry trees, they don’t just admire the beauty of the flowers. With a glass of sake in one hand and a bento box in the other, they live by the carpe diem principle - they make the most of the day! Celebrate the beauty of life! They remember those who have lost and cherish their lives with a sense of admiration and awe, say goodbye to the past and move into a new period of life filled with new hopes. The cherry blossoms remind them that they themselves are like them, beautiful and fleeting. Just like all of us.
