Anticipating the Sakura

The weather is being quite fickle.  The Japanese have a saying, 「三寒四温」(san kan shi on).  It means "three days cold, four days warm."  This is how the weather has been for the last few weeks.  The constant changing led me to have a bout of hay fever earlier this month.  But, spring is a wonderful season: full of new life and, especially, flowers!

The plum blossoms are already blooming and the sakura (cherry) blossoms are budding (some varieties have already begun to bloom).  They are all expected to be in full bloom by the second or third week of April.  I'm so excited!  This is my first spring in Kanazawa.

On Tuesday I went to a local park and community center with some friends.  One of my friends took this picture of my chasing after a basketball (note: basketball in boots is not a good idea).  You can see a pink glow to the tree in the background.  It has sakura buds.  The whole river (behind the tree) is lined with sakura trees.  Most of the city has them, and so basically the whole city will turn pink for a few weeks!  

I'm very excited.  I might even get to go 「花見」(hanami) or "flower viewing" with some friends.  It's a popular tradition in Japan to go and appreciate the view of the sakura blossoms in the spring.  Popular viewing sites will be crowded with people picnicking under the trees.  When my mom visited me in Okayama in 2011, we went to many places to enjoy the cherry blossoms.

This week is Passion Week, or Holy Week.  It is the week Christians focus on the days leading up to Christ's death.  Today is Maundy Thursday.  I recently found out that "maundy" is derived from the Latin word "mandatum" meaning "mandate" or "command."  

On Thursday, Jesus Christ gave his disciples this command, "And now I give you a new commandment: love one another.  As I have loved you, so you must love one another" (John 13:34 GNT).  

This is the commandment that all who trust in Jesus Christ as the Son of God live by.  (For more on this, visit The Presidential Prayer Team blog post for Maundy Thursday).  

Unconditional love is something many people have never experienced.  Seek each day to show others love with no strings attached, expecting nothing in return except approval from your Heavenly Father.

~GO TO THE ANT, dear readers~