TANABATA (七夕)

Have you ever heard TANABATA? TANABATA (七夕, meaning "Evening of the seventh") is a Japanese star festival, originating from the Chinese Qixi Festival. It celebrates the meeting of Orihime (Vega) and Hikoboshi (Altair). According to 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.

Recently people generally celebrate this day by writing wishes, on tanzaku (短冊), small pieces of paper, and hanging them on bamboo with other decorations of Origami and paper crafts. Since kindergarten age people learned how to do it so TANABATA is familiar festival to Japanese. 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

Tanabata song:
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)

Kingin sunago (金銀砂子)

Translation:

The bamboo leaves rustle,

shaking away in the eaves.

The stars twinkle;

Gold and silver grains of sand.

Big TANABATA festivals will be held around Nagoya. Let's go out and experience TANABATA (>0<)///

For details, refer to the following URLs;

One of the three biggest festivals, Anjo Tanabata Matsuri(第５８回安城七夕まつり)　→　http://www.anjo-tanabata.jp/　

Other of the three biggest festivals, Ichinomiya Tanabata matsuri(一宮七夕まつり)　→　http://138ss.com/tanabata_bunner/index_tanabata.htm