Hanami-kai

It was Flores de Mayo during my childhood days when I was exposed to flower-related activities in our parish thru our nearby the chapel. Baguio has the Penagbenga, a flower festival and parade where displays of flowers and floats are cheerished by many especially the tourists.

In Nagano, they have the hanami-kai (seeing flower festival), a gathering organized by respective groups to have their outdoor picnics to enjoy seeing the cherry blossoms or sakura and other flowers around at the same time enjoy their food and drinks. It may be a social if not a cultural tradition of the Japanese during this spring season of their beautiful sakura and various hana (flower) to give a chance to these lovely flowers. Eventually, their drinking session is allowable by the government and the police while they are in a government park or places where sakura trees are in full bloom that day in a year.
My school administration announced yesterday the being prepared hanami-kai of the administration department. So far, in my three years in this institution, it is only now that I heard about their organizing of a hanami-kai. There were boo-nin kai before, but now, it is the hanami-kai.

The sub-group of Fil-Jap community here in Nagano shi is also organizing a hanami-kai next weekend. It can be a social time to meet once again the Filipino families in the city connected to our group perhaps.

Thanks to the flowers, the sakura, for you give us a chance to socialize with you and to our dear colleagues in the kaissha and our organization as well. This could be the essence of 3rd blessing of having proper dominion of the creations, the plants, the animals, the climate and environment as well.

May it be done according to His will!