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I'm a Costa Rican-American writer covering all the impolite dinner party topics — religion, politics, witches, identity, Da Pope, and the internet.

Some important lore about DC's iconic cherry trees — in 1912, Japan gifted cherry trees to the people of the US. It was an effort that required extensive planning by agriculturists and government officials. Ultimately, it led to thousands of cherry trees blooming and, later, to the start of the National Cherry Blossom Festival in DC, which is still celebrated today. In 1915, President William Howard Taft sent dogwood trees to Japan as a symbol of gratitude.