هَذَا مِهْرَجَانُ الْكَرَزِ فِي حَمَّانَا. حَمَّانَا بَلْدَةٌ فِي جِبَالِ لُبْنَانَ. وَالْمِهْرَجَانُ فِي أَوَّلِ الصَّيْفِ كُلَّ سَنَةٍ. يَأْتِي إِلَيْهِ زُوَّارٌ كَثِيرُونَ. فِي حَمَّانَا أَنْوَاعٌ كَثِيرَةٌ مِنَ الْكَرَزِ. أَكْثَرُهَا كَرَزٌ أَحْمَرُ غَامِقٌ. الْجَوُّ فِي الْجَبَلِ بَارِدٌ. وَالْبَرْدُ يُعْطِي الْكَرَزَ طَعْمًا طَيِّبًا. فِي الْمِهْرَجَانِ يَقْطِفُ الزُّوَّارُ الْكَرَزَ بِأَيْدِيهِمْ. تَأْخُذُهُمْ حَافِلَاتٌ إِلَى بَسَاتِينِ الْكَرَزِ. يَأْخُذُ كُلُّ زَائِرٍ كِيسًا. وَعِنْدَهُ نِصْفُ سَاعَةٍ فِي الْبُسْتَانِ. وَالْحَافِلَاتُ تَذْهَبُ وَتَرْجِعُ طُولَ النَّهَارِ. وَفِي الْبَلْدَةِ سُوقٌ لِلْمِهْرَجَانِ. فِيهِ كَرَزٌ لِلْبَيْعِ وَعَسَلٌ وَزَعْتَرٌ. وَتَدُورُ فِرَقُ الْمُوسِيقَى فِي السُّوقِ. وَيَرْقُصُ النَّاسُ الدَّبْكَةَ هُنَاكَ. يَأْكُلُ النَّاسُ الْكَرَزَ طَازَجًا مِنَ الشَّجَرَةِ. وَيَصْنَعُونَ مِنْهُ مُرَبًّى وَعَصِيرًا. وَبَعْضُ النَّاسِ يُعَلِّقُونَ الْكَرَزَ فِي آذَانِهِمْ. فَيَصِيرُ الْكَرَزُ مِثْلَ الْأَقْرَاطِ. وَهَذِهِ عَادَةٌ قَدِيمَةٌ فِي لُبْنَانَ. يَبِيعُ أَهْلُ حَمَّانَا كَرَزًا كَثِيرًا فِي يَوْمِ الْمِهْرَجَانِ. وَهُمْ يَبِيعُونَهُ فِي أَرْضِهِمْ. وَفِي آخِرِ النَّهَارِ يَرْجِعُ الزُّوَّارُ بِأَكْيَاسٍ مِنَ الْكَرَزِ.
This is the cherry festival in Hammana. Hammana is a town in the mountains of Lebanon. The festival is at the start of summer every year. Many visitors come to it. Hammana has many kinds of cherries. Most of them are dark red cherries. The weather on the mountain is cold. And the cold gives the cherries a good taste. At the festival, visitors pick the cherries with their own hands. Buses take them to the cherry orchards. Each visitor takes a bag. And he has half an hour in the orchard. The buses go and come back all day. In the town there is a market for the festival. It has cherries for sale, honey and thyme. Music bands go round the market. And people dance the dabke there. People eat the cherries fresh from the tree. And they make jam and juice from them. Some people hang cherries on their ears. So the cherries become like earrings. This is an old custom in Lebanon. The people of Hammana sell a lot of cherries on the festival day. And they sell them on their own land. At the en