Tanabata Star Festival

Tanabata (七夕), which is also known as the “Star Festival” takes place every year on the 7th day of the 7th month. Originating from Chinese legend it celebrates the meeting of the two stars Altair and Vega. According to the legend, the Milky Way, a river of stars that crosses the sky, separates these lovers, and they are allowed to meet only once a year on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month of the lunisolar calendar.

The celebration is held at night and colourful Tanabata festivals are held across Japan in early July and August. One of the biggest and most famous is the Tanabata Festivals of Hiratsuka near Tokyo in July and Sendai in August.

A popular Tanabata custom in Japan is to write wishes on a small piece of paper and hang them on a specially decorated bamboo tree in hope that the wish will come true. The bamboo tree is usually set afloat on a river or burned after the festival, around midnight or on the next day.

 

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