This week marks the start of the National Cherry Blossom Festival, which commemorates the gift of 3,000 cherry trees from Japan to the city of Washington, DC, in 1912. The National Park Service says that during a two-week period each spring, the festival draws more than one million visitors to the National Mall, aka America’s Front Yard. In Japan, the custom of picnicking under the cherry blossoms is known as ‘hanami,’ and it’s said to be more spectacular at night, when revelers hang lanterns from the tree branches to illuminate the blooms.
Cherry blossoms at the National Mall, Washington, DC
Today in History
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Remembering Krakatoa
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Water colors
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Looking for peace on the precipice
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Central Highlands of Vietnam
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Ancient art in the Amazon
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Agüero, Huesca province, Spain
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All eyes on moths
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Jazzed for Mardi Gras
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Unbearable cuteness
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Road to Hana, Maui, Hawaii
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Après-ski in the Dolomites
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Helloooooo, Innsbruck
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Honoring those who served
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A hint of spring
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Skyscraper Day
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Saint Nicholas Day in Verbier, Switzerland
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It’s Canada’s national day
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Celebrating all things Austen
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Swimming with the sea cows
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World Architecture Day
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National Moon Day
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Where fire meets water
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Observing World Braille Day in Bavaria
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A gentle wind fills this sail
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The Easter Bunny’s story
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Haghartsin Monastery, Armenia
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Celebrating National Dentist Day
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Super sandy Sweet 16
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Bringing the moon to Earth
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An underwater rainbow