[Language of Flowers] Witch Hazel = Sensitivity

Witch Hazel = Sensitivity

Witch hazel is a flower that blooms early at the end of winter.
Amidst the still-cold wind,
it is a plant that senses the change of seasons faster than anyone else,
quietly opening its flowers.

Witch hazel appears in children's songs.

Especially famous is the song that heralds spring,
known for the line,
"The witch hazel flowers have bloomed."

It is said that the etymology of witch hazel (mansaku) comes from "mazu saku" (blooms first) -> "manzu saku" -> "mansaku",
and as the "first flower to bloom in spring,"
it has long appeared in children's songs and seasonal songs.

In the world of children's songs,
witch hazel is treated as a symbol of the following:
・A flower that signals the end of winter
・A presence that senses the arrival of spring early
・A simple and gentle messenger of the seasons

That is why,
it resonates with today's flower language of "sensitivity."

A flower that is sensitive to the changes of the seasons,
sensing spring faster than anyone else.

The reason it appears in children's songs,
I believe, is because that "simple and gentle sensibility"
is perfect for the world of children.