Episode 14: What’s the deal with Cherry Blossoms?
High Park is always worth a visit. It’s got hiking trails, rec centres, gardens, eateries, dog trails, and waterfronts. Millions of people visit High Park every year. Even then, the park becomes even more crowded around the first week of May. Why? Cherry blossom season of course!
This year, I decided to partake in this tradition myself with some friends.
I learned a lot about how beautiful this tradition is, and that actually its roots come from Canada’s Japanese community.
After World War II, Canada accepted many Japanese refugees into the country. As a thank you, and in order to help them assimilate into Canadian society, the city of Tokyo donated the cherry blossom trees to the city of Toronto. Today, those trees make up an important part of High Park’s ecosystem. And, they’re beautiful! Millions of Torontonians, not only those of Japanese origin, make their way to the park to admire these lovely but temporary flowers.
Besides offering a lovely photo opportunity, why go to see these flowers? This question led me to discover the reason this is one of the most popular activities in Japan: Wabi-sabi.
As I said in the video, the Japanese philosophy of wabi-sabi is all about embracing life’s impermanence and imperfection as beautiful. Because the flowers only last a week, like anything else in life, we should enjoy them while they are here. We should love them more, because they don’t last forever. Beautiful, isn’t it?
I hope you enjoy this video, and make the most of the pro tips in the video to lose the crowds and check them out near you! Here are some links mentioned in the video:
City of Toronto cherry blossom watch site
High Park tips for cherry blossom season
A little bit about wabi-sabi and the tradition in Japan
Did you know about wabi-sabi? Have you been to see the trees yourself?
I’d love to know!
Let me know in the video comments and be sure to subscribe to the channel and my newsletter below so you never miss a video!
