Tanabata（七夕）

Tanabata is a festival that takes place among the stars and is rooted in Chinese tradition. It generally takes place on July 7th, as it is supposed to take place on the seventh day of the seventh month. However, as the seventh month of the old lunar calendar more closely aligns with August, there are still some areas in which it is celebrated on August 7th. Other celebrations in Japan such as the Doll Festival (March 3rd) or Children's Day (May 5th) follow a similar pattern of viewing a day with the same number as its month as being auspicious.

The story of Tanabata originates from a similar Chinese festival, and gained popularity among the imperial nobility during the Heian period. The legend tells of a princess named Orihime 織姫 who wove beautiful clothes with her loom. Her father, the god of the heavens, loved her work so much that in appreciation he decided to arrange a meeting with Hikoboshi 彦星, who lived on the other side of the Amanogawa 天の川 or River of Heaven, another name for the Milky Way. The two met and instantly fell in love. However, as a result of this, they stopped working entirely. This angered Orihime's father, who decided to separate them across the River of Heaven. In the end he was moved by her sadness at at this loss and he finally decided to allow them to meet just one day a year.

Tanabata became a celebration of the only day out of the year that these star-crossed lovers are able to meet. The most common way of celebrating involves writing a wish and hanging it on a bamboo tree. The wishes may range from personal wishes for love or good health, to more mundane wishes such as being able to pass a test or have more luck in business. The wishes are written on a small piece of paper called a tanzaku 短冊. Sometimes other decorations or ornaments are used, such as origami or streamers. Certain areas of Japan also hold large-scale festivals. Sendai in Miyagi prefecture and Hiratsuka in Kanagawa Prefecture near Tokyo have become famous for their elaborate Tanabata festivals.