Tanabata
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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 or August 7, and celebrates the meeting of Orihime (Vega) and Hikoboshi (Altair). The Milky Way, a river made from stars that crosses the sky, separated these two lovers, and they were allowed to meet only once a year. This special day is the seventh day of the seventh lunar month of the lunisolar calendar.
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History
The festival originated from The Festival to Plead for Skills (乞巧節; qǐ qiǎo jié)), an alternative name for Qi Xi, which was celebrated in the Kyoto Imperial Palace from the Heian Period. 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. In the Edo period, girls wished for better sewing and craftsmanship, and boys wished for better handwriting by writing wishes on strips of paper. At this time, the custom was to use dew left on Taro leaves to create the ink used to write wishes.
Customs
In present-day Japan, people generally celebrate this day by writing wishes on tanzaku (短冊, small pieces of paper) and hanging them on bamboo, sometimes with other decorations. The bamboo and decorations are often set float on a river or burned after the festival, around midnight or on the next day. This resembles the custom of floating paper ships and candles on rivers during Obon. Many areas in Japan have their own Tanabata customs, which are mostly related to local Obon traditions.
There is also a traditional song that goes with Tanabata that is taught to almost every Japanese child:
Sasa no ha sara sara Nokiba ni yureru Ohoshi-sama kira kira Kin gin sunago
The bamboo leaves, rustle, rustle Shaking away in the eaves The stars go twinkle, twinkle Gold and silver grains of sand
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 August 7, while remains are held still on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month of lunisolar calendar, which is usually in Gregorian August.
Tanabata 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. Other events may include parades and Miss Tanabata contests. Like other Japanese festivals, many outdoor stalls sell food, provide carnival games, etc., and add to the festive atmosphere.
The Sendai Tanabata Festival
Image:SendaiTanabata1.jpg 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. In 1947, the Showa Emperor Hirohito visited Sendai and was greeted by 5,000 Tanabata 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; Kamigoromo) : Wishes for good sewing. Wards off accidents and bad health. |
 Paper Crane (折り鶴; Orizuru) : Family safety, health, and long life |
 Purse (巾着; Kinchaku) : Good business |
 Net (投網; Toami) : Good fishing and harvests |
 Trash Bag (くずかご; Kuzukago) : Cleanliness and unwastefulness |
 Streamers (吹き流し; Fukinagashi) : The strings that Orihime uses to weave |
The ornamental ball (くす玉; Kusudama) often decorated above streamers in present-day Tanabata decorations was originally conceived in 1946 by the owner of a shop in downtown Sendai. The ball was originally modelled after the Dahlia flower. In recent years, box-shaped ornaments have become popular alternatives to the ornamental ball.