Plum Blossoms

My freshman year in high school, I had to read the book The Gossamer Years. I think I was the only person in my class who actually finished the diary of a lady of Heian Japan. It was a hard read, but I was fascinated by the world it described; it seemed stranger than anything out of science fiction. I think that book was the first time I heard of the New Year being connected to plum blossoms.

Growing up on the desert, plum blossoms were an exotic concept to begin with. I didn’t know about lunar calendars then, either, so I imagined these magical flowers blooming in January. I was so excited when, nearly 15 years later, I bought a house with a plum tree by the kitchen door.

For most people, cherry blossoms are the important Asian flower obsession. But for me, the new year begins with the plum blossoms.