Tanabata 七夕 – Star Festival

Every year in Japan, the famous ” Tanabata ” (たなばたó七夕) is celebrated, a holiday that takes place on July 7 (the seventh day of the seventh month, in the lunar calendar, which is about a month before the Gregorian calendar) Some localities celebrate it on August 7, it is the case of the most famous Tanabata in Japan that is celebrated in Sendai, where the celebration lasts about a week.

On this day the meeting of the deities Orihime and Hikoboshi (the stars Vega and Altair, respectively) is celebrated since they are generally separated from each other by the Milky Way but it is on this only day that it is possible for them to meet and renew their old bond of love. love!

ORIHIME AND HIKOBOSHI – THE DEITIES SEPARATE BY A RIVER

Legend has it that Orihime, the Weaver Princess, knew how to sew very well. Her father praised her for this and encouraged her to sew and sew. But this left Orihime with no time to do anything else. One day for his daughter to rest, her father invited a man named Hikoboshi, to talk with her and have someone to be with, even that she could fall in love with him.

The two young people met and what was expected happened: they fell in love and their meetings continued one after the other, making their love stronger and stronger. But this made Orihime stop sewing because she didn’t have as much time as before. This did not please her father and he forbade his daughter to meet her Hikoboshi. She cried so much that her father was moved and allowed her to see her lover only once a year, on the seventh day of the seventh month. He placed them one on each side of the river.

In their first meeting after their separation, the two lovers found that they could not cross the river (the Milky Way) because there was no bridge but a flock of cranes (tsuru) came to their aid and they were able to reunite. The cranes made a promise that each year they would come so that the two young men could be reunited on that day.

It is said that if that day is cloudy or there is rain, it is not possible for the two lovers to meet and they will have to wait until the following year to be able to meet, hoping that it will be a clear day without rain.

For this day, people decorate their houses or the interior of buildings with a bamboo branch to which they place ornaments or ” tanzaku ” (短冊). Small papers are also placed for you to write a wish for yourself or for loved ones in that year that passes. As bamboo grows straight and tall, it is believed that hanging wishes on the stems would invoke divine protection.

There is a song for this day that talks about ” tanzaku ” and the stars, where the little papers move with the wind and the stars shine and look down from the sky.

In the Sendai festival, it is traditional to use various forms of decoration, each with a different meaning:

• The pap el strips (短冊 Tanzaku) represent the desire for good calligraphy and good studies.
• The Paper Cranes (折り鶴 Orizuru): Represents family security, health, and long life.
• The Bag (巾着 Kinchaku): represents the desire for good business.
• The Red (投網 Toami): represents wishes for good fishing and harvests.
• Trash Can (くずかご Kuzukago): Represents hygiene and economic austerity.
• Streamers (吹き流し Fukinagashi): Represents the threads Orihime uses to weave.

The traditional Tanabata food is sōmen (素麺), these long, thin noodles whose intertwined strands were thought to resemble both the Milky Way and the threads of the weaving Orihime worked. Sōmen (素麺)) is commonly enjoyed in a light sauce. They are very rich and they cool you down a lot in the heat of the Japanese summer!

There is a similar celebration in your country! Tell us in the comments!