A Japanese festival (7 Jul, but in some places 7 Aug) dedicated to the two stars Vega and Altair - two lovers (in the Chinese folk-tale) allowed to meet only once a year on that night; also called Star Festival.
Tanabata七夕 (tanabata, Tanabata七夕), meaning "Seven Evenings") is a Japanese star festival, derived from Obon traditions and the Chinese star festival, Qi Xi. The festival is usually held on July 7, and celebrates the meeting of Orihime (Vega) and Hikoboshi (Altair).
History
The festival originated from The Festival to Plead for Skills (乞巧節; The festival spread to the general public by the early Edo period, became mixed with various Obon traditions, and developed into the modern Tanabata festival.
Customs
In present-day Japan, people generally celebrate this day by writing wishes, sometimes in the form of poetry, on tanzaku (短冊, tanzaku), small pieces of paper) and hanging them on bamboo, sometimes with other decorations. The bamboo and decorations are often set afloat on a river or burned after the festival, around midnight or on the next day.
There is also a traditional song that goes with Tanabata that is taught to almost every Japanese child:
Sasa no ha sara-sara (笹の葉 さらさら) Nokiba ni yureru (軒端にゆれる ) Ohoshi-sama kira-kira (お星様 キラキラ) Kin Gin sunago (金銀砂ご )Translation:
The bamboo leaves, rustle, rustle, shaking away in the eaves.Date
The original Tanabata date was based on the Japanese lunisolar calendar, which is about a month behind the Gregorian calendar. As a result, some festivals are held on July 7, some are held on a few days around August 7, while the others are still held on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month of the traditional Japanese lunisolar calendar, which is usually in the Gregorian Calendar's August.
The Gregorian dates of "the seventh day of the seventh lunar month of the Japanese lunisolar calendar" for upcoming years are:
2007-08-19 2008-08-07 2009-08-26 2010-08-16 2011-08-06 2012-08-24 (Note: Chinese one is 2012-08-23 because of difference in time.) 2013-08-13 2014-08-02 2015-08-20 2016-08-09Tanabata festivals
Large-scale Tanabata festivals are held in many places in Japan, mainly along shopping malls and streets, which are decorated with large, colorful streamers. The most famous Tanabata festival is held in Sendai from August 5 to 8. In the Kanto area, the biggest Tanabata festival is held in Hiratsuka, Kanagawa for a few days around July 7. A Tanabata festival is also held in São Paulo, Brazil around the first weekend of July.
Although Tanabata festivals vary from region to region, most festivals involve Tanabata decoration competitions.
The Sendai Tanabata Festival
The Sendai Tanabata festival began shortly after the city was founded in the early Edo Period. The Tanabata festival gradually developed and became larger over the years. Although the festival's popularity started to dwindle after the Meiji Restoration, and almost disappeared during the economic depression that occurred after World War I, volunteers in Sendai revived the festival in 1928 and established the tradition of holding the festival from August 6 to 8.
During World War II it was impossible to hold the festival, and almost no decorations were seen in the city from 1943 to 1945, but after the war, the first major Tanabata festival in Sendai was held in 1946, and featured 52 decorations. The festival subsequently developed into one of the three major summer festivals in the Tohoku region and became a major tourist attraction. The festival now includes a fireworks show that is held on August 5.
At the Sendai Tanabata festival, people traditionally use seven different kinds of decorations, which each represent different meanings. The seven decorations and their symbolic meanings are:
|
Paper strips (短冊; Tanzaku) : Wishes for good handwriting and studies |
Paper Kimono (紙衣; Orizuru) : Family safety, health, and long life |
Purse (巾着; Kinchaku) : Good business |
|
Net (投網; Fukinagashi) : The strings that Orihime uses to weave |
The ornamental ball (くす玉;
Story behind the Tanabata
The story behind the Tanabata is a very interesting one.
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