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Similar to the Chinese festival Qi Xi (七夕,) , Tanabata is a Japanese star festival. In Japan, Tanabata festival is usually held on July 7. Tanabata celebrates the meeting of two stars; the Orihime (Vega) star and the Hikoboshi (Altair) star. According to legend, the Milky Way universe, a river made from stars that crosses the sky, separates these lovers, and they are allowed to meet only once a year. This special day is the seventh day of the seventh lunar month of the lunisolar calendar.

Maybe most of you are familiar with the Chinese version of the legend. Since I am not an expert on telling grand mother story *ahem legend, here’s what I found on wiki:

Orihime (織姫, Weaving Princess) the daughter of the Tenkou (天工, Sky King, or the universe itself) wove beautiful clothes by the bank of the River of Heaven (天の川 Amanogawa). Her father loved the cloth that she wove and so she worked very hard everyday to weave it. However, she was sad that because of her hard work she could never meet and fall in love with anyone. Concerned about his daughter, Tenkou arranged for her to meet Hikoboshi (彦星, Cow Herder Star) sometimes called Kengyuu (牽牛, Chinese name of Hikoboshi) who lived and worked on the other side of the Amanogawa. When the two met, they fell instantly in love with each other and were shortly married.

However, once married, Orihime no longer would weave cloth for Tenkou and Hikoboshi allowed his cows to stray all over Heaven. In anger, Tenkou separated the two lovers across the Amanogawa River and forbade them to meet. Orihime became despondent at the loss of her husband and asked her father to let them meet again. Tenkou was moved by his daughter’s tears and allowed the two to meet on the 7th day of the 7th month if Orihime worked hard and finished her weaving. The first time they tried to meet; however, they found that they could not cross the river because there was no bridge. Orihime cried so much that a flock of magpies (鵲, カササギ, Kasasagi) came and promised to make a bridge with their wings so that she could cross the river. If it rains, the magpies cannot come and the two lovers must wait till next year.

The following variation of the story is known in China and Japan: A young farmer named Mikeran (牛郎, Mikeran) discovered on his farm a robe which, unbeknown to him, belonged to a goddess named Tanabata. Soon after, Tanabata visited Mikeran and asked if he had found it. He lied and told the goddess that he hadn’t but would help with her search. Eventually the pair fell in love, were wed and had many children. However, one day Tanabata noticed a piece of cloth which had once belonged to her robe on the roof of Mikeran’s hut. His lie uncovered, Tanabata agreed to forgive him on the condition he weaved one thousand pairs of straw shoes, but until that time, she would leave him. Mikeran was unable to weave the shoes in his lifetime and thus never met Tanabata again. However, it is said the pair meet once a year when the moons/stars Altair and Vega intersect.

So back to the real world, how is the celebration of Tanabata in Japan now?. Present day, Tanabata is day where people generally celebrate this day by writing wishes, sometimes in the form of poetry, on tanzaku on small pieces of paper, and hanging them on bamboo, sometimes with other decorations. In the beginning of July, bamboo trees can be seen almost everywhere in Japan. Most of the trees are nicely decorated with colorful decorations.

Large-scale Tanabata festivals are held in many places in Japan, mainly along shopping malls and streets, which are decorated with large, colorful streamers.

Thus on this auspicious day, I too would like to make a wish under my tanabata bamboo tree. I wish that there will be peace on earth and happiness for everyone. So how about your wish?. Leave your comment and I will wish it for you under my tanabata bamboo tree.