笑語歡歌櫻花雨

春天一到，日本立刻變成一個櫻花世界。從最南端的沖繩到最寒冷的北海道，櫻花由南往北依次盛開，仿如一片粉色的云彩飄過整個日本。這時，日本各地都會舉行大大小小的“櫻花祭”。在櫻花樹下載歌載舞，又飲又食，確實是人生一大樂事，難怪日本人對于“花見”（賞櫻）總是樂此不疲。櫻花雖美，但花期極短，一般只有10天，如果你想一睹日本國花的美貌，可要抓緊時間做計劃哦！

You know what time of year it is when the beer 1)cans turn pink， there are strange weather

forecasts on TV and train stations are covered with pictures of flowers – hanami season.

Hanami season in March and April is， for many Japanese， the best time of year. This is when the 2)cherry blossom trees all over Japan come into bloom for between seven and ten days and people hold outdoor parties to view them. The name says it all – “hana” means “flower” and “mi” is “to look.”

This is a great time of year to visit Japan as the weather is perfect – warm， but not nearly as hot as summer， and everybody is in a party frame of mind.

The 3)advent of the blossoms not only 4)heralds the end of a harsh winter， but also the beginning of another school year and a new 5)fiscal year for businesses. So hanami is like a party to celebrate a new beginning.

Spring is a very busy period – accounts have to be finalized， reports finished， and karoshi (death by overwork) is said to peak in March. Deadlines， school graduation ceremonies， government transfers – and then， in April， come the cherry blossoms like a breath of fresh air. This marks the nation’s change of focus from hard

working to hard playing. Impressive quantities of sake are drunk， food is 6)barbequed and songs are sung.

The 7)fleeting beauty of the cherry blossoms is symbolic to the Japanese. They 8)liken the petals to the life of the 9)samurai –

a brief explosion of colour， bright for the duration of their short life， before they 10)wither and die. They represent the 11)brevity of life and the 12)frailty of existence.

The first hanami took place in the 7th century. Originally a religious rite， it was held on a particular day， and the coming harvest was forecasted from the condition of the cherry blossoms.

The full blooms were symbolic of a full and 13)bountiful harvest of rice， which the upper classes would celebrate by drinking and eating under the trees.

Short plays were performed and women wore brightly coloured 14)kimonos. It was not until the end of the 17th century that hanami became popular among the working classes. The parties have changed little since then and are much like a big picnic.

People take along food， host a barbeque or buy food from 15)stalls that line the paths. One popular snack is dango， a traditional Japanese dumpling made from rice flour. Another is sakura mochi， 16)red kidney-bean 17)paste wrapped in a cherry blossom leaf.

Families and workmates gather under the trees. They sing， drink， eat and talk until late in the evening.

Cherry blossoms， or sakura， have captured the imagination of the Japanese and appear frequently in everyday life. There is a Sakura Bank， and when naming a child， the Japanese often 18)incorporate the character for sakura in the name. The cherry tree 19)motif 20)graces the back of 100 yen coins， and the first song many Japanese children learn is called Sakura Sakura.

Hanami now has huge 21)commercial 22)appeal. In mid-March， a large quantity of themed chocolate， beer and clothing hits the shops. You would be lucky to find a product that has not re-branded itself for the fleeting period. All the shops turn pink!

The state of the cherry blossoms is also revealed to millions through the media. There are “sakura forecasts” – with pink dots covering maps of Japan on television and in the daily newspapers. This is followed by information on how to find the best displays， the areas where the season has finished and where it is just beginning. Hanami parties are planned around these reports. A sort of “sakura fever” 23)grips the nation for the duration of the fragile blossom’s life.

Some 24)fanatics travel from one side of the country to the other to find the perfect show of blossoms and the 25)ultimate hanami. They 26)stalk the season further north until the final petals have fallen， withered and disappeared.

In popular areas， things have been known to get a little competitive. Some groups send out 27)scouts ahead of the party to secure the best spots in the best parks.

If you do visit Japan in March or April， try to find out the best places to go for a hanami party while you are there – it’s definitely worth it.

當啤酒罐上一片粉紅、電視上播放著奇怪的天氣預報、火車站里布滿花的照片時，你就能知道這是一年當中的什么時候——這就是“花見”（hanami，“花見”）季節(jié)。

對于許多日本人來說，三四月間的“花見”季節(jié)是一年當中最美好的時光。此間，日本全國各地的櫻花競相開放，花期持續(xù)七到十天，人們會在戶外舉行賞花派對。其名字（hanami）已經說明了含義——“hana”（“花”的日語讀音）意為“花”，“mi”（“見”的日語讀音）則是“看”的意思。

這是游覽日本的絕佳時間，因為天氣恰到好處——溫暖，但又不至于像夏天那么酷熱，而且每個人都處于開派對的歡快心情之中。

櫻花的盛開不僅代表著寒冬的結束，也宣告了新學年和新的企業(yè)財政年度的開始。因此賞櫻就好像是一次慶祝新開始的派對。

春季是一個相當繁忙的時期——賬目要結算，報告要完成；據說三月還是過勞死（karoshi，“過労死”）的高峰期。這段時期，各種工作都要面臨截止期限，學校的畢業(yè)典禮和政府交接也在此時進行。然后到了四月份，櫻花姍姍而至，猶如一縷清新的空氣。這標志著全日本的注意力將從勤奮工作轉移到盡情玩樂上。人們會喝大量清酒，燒烤食物，唱歌助興。

對日本人而言，櫻花那稍縱即逝的美極具象征意義。他們把櫻花的花瓣比作武士的生命——在凋零死亡之前，于剎那間釋放出所有色彩，生命的短暫更突顯其光芒。它們象征了生命的短暫和存在的脆弱。

歷史上第一次花見發(fā)生在公元7世紀?；ㄒ娫臼且环N宗教儀式，在特定的日子舉行，人們根據櫻花開放的情況預測來年的莊稼收成。盛開的花朵預示水稻將獲得豐收，于是上層階級便會在櫻花樹下飲酒歡宴以示慶祝。

此外還有短劇表演，女性則會穿上色彩明麗的和服。然而，直到17世紀末，花見才在勞動階級中流行起來。此后這種賞櫻聚會基本保留原貌，就好像一次盛大的郊游野餐。

人們帶上食物，舉行燒烤餐會，或者在沿路的小攤購買食品。其中一種很受歡迎的食品就是團子（dango，“団子”），這是一種用米粉做成的傳統(tǒng)日式丸子；另一種常見的食品是櫻花餅（sakura mochi，“桜餅”），也就是外面包有一片櫻花樹葉的紅蕓豆面團。

賞櫻那天，家人、同事一起聚在櫻花樹下，唱歌、飲酒、吃東西、談笑風生，直到入夜。

櫻花（sakura，“桜”）讓日本人非常癡迷，其形象經常出現(xiàn)在日本人的日常生活當中：有一家銀行就叫櫻花銀行；給孩子取名字時，日本人也經常會用到“櫻”字；面值100日元的硬幣背面的櫻花樹圖案讓其增色不少；而許多日本小孩學會唱的第一首歌就是《櫻花，櫻花》。

現(xiàn)在，賞櫻活動有很大的商業(yè)吸引力。三月中旬，商店里會涌現(xiàn)大批圍繞賞櫻這一主題的巧克力、啤酒和服飾。要是你能夠找到一種沒有為這個短暫的季節(jié)而重新包裝品牌的產品，那么你的運氣實在是太好了。所有商店在這個季節(jié)都會變成粉紅色！

同時，櫻花的開花情況也會通過媒體展現(xiàn)在萬眾眼前。在電視和日報上有“櫻花預報”——地圖上滿是用粉紅色小點標示的櫻花景點。還有如何找到當前最佳景點、哪里的花季已經結束、哪里的花季才剛剛開始等等信息。人們根據這些預報來安排賞櫻聚會。在這種脆弱花朵的盛開期間，一股“櫻花熱”席卷全國。

有些賞花迷不惜從日本國土的一端跑到另一端，只為一賞完美的櫻花盛景，徹底享受賞櫻季節(jié)。他們追蹤日本各地櫻花盛開的腳步，一路向北，直到最后的花瓣凋落枯萎，化作春泥。

在最受歡迎的地方，賞櫻也會變得略帶競爭性。有些人在賞櫻聚會開始之前就派出“探子”，以確保能夠在景致最好的公園里占領最佳的賞花地點。

如果你在三四月間去日本，不妨在當地找個賞櫻聚會的好地方，絕對不虛此行。