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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Wychwood Forest, Oxfordshire, England
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Saint Andrews Day
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Ukrainian Independence Day
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Pining for spring
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A cutting-edge art gallery opens in Paris
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A walk among the giants
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Celebrating Flag Day
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Keep shining
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Infrared Jupiter, erupting Io
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It s ∞ Day!
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National Park Week: Guadalupe Mountains National Park
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Río Arazas in Ordesa y Monte Perdido National Park, Spain
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Holidays in the Venetian Lagoon
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The Tour de France begins
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It’s Canada’s national day
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Bear Hole Brook, Catskill Mountains, New York
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Summer’s in home stretch
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White Sands National Park turns 90
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Is that a buzzing sound?
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Blue paradise on the Costa Brava
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‘Think equal, build smart, innovate for change’
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Kangaroo family for National Hugging Day
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Happy Independence Day!
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Take a hike near Lovers Lane
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It s aboat time for the Barcolana
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Mount Logan in Yukon, Canada
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Tintern Abbey, Wales
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Taking the scenic route to Sturgis