SNAPPED: Stunning Sakura trees delight visitors at Spencer Smith Park

The Burlington Sakura trees are in full bloom and throngs of appreciative viewers will descend on Spencer Smith Park to enjoy the beauty and symbolism.

There's little that can match the timeless elegance of the Sakura's gentle scent, hue, swelling, blooming, and falling: all creating feelings that tune you into nature.

In Japan, Sakura (cherry blossoms) symbolize clouds due to their nature of blooming en mass, besides being an enduring metaphor for the ephemeral nature of life, an aspect of Japanese cultural tradition that is often associated with Buddhist influence.

The association of the sakura with mono no aware dates back to 18th-century scholar Motoori Norinaga. The transience of the blossoms, the extreme beauty and quick death, has often been associated with mortality.

For this reason, sakura are richly symbolic, and have been utilized often in Japanese art, manga, anime, and film, as well as at musical performances for ambient effect. The flower is also represented on all manner of consumer goods in Japan, including kimono, stationery, and dishware.