Japanese Holidays - Tanabata Festival of Love

On the seventh day of the seventh month according to the old calendar, that is, in mid-August, the Star Festival was held in China In Japan, which adopted this tradition from its neighbor, after switching to the Gregorian calendar, the Tanabata Festival began to be celebrated on July 7 The celebration is dedicated to the symbolic reunion of the stars Altair and Vega, which represent two lovers According to an ancient Chinese legend, this couple consisted of Zhinyu (Vega) and Niulang (Altair) In the Japanese version, the girl's name was Orihime (Weaver) and the guy's name was Hikoboshi (Shepherd) The couple, by the will of fate, was separated on both sides of the Amonagawa River - the Milky Way This punishment was imposed on the girl by her father Tentei, to whom she stopped hiding her clothes, having become carried away by the young man who was in love with her Over time, the king of heaven took pity on his daughter and allowed her to see Hikoboshi on Tanabata (in Japanese - “evening of the seventh”) Therefore, according to legend, once a year the reunion of Altair and Vega takes place, which has become for the inhabitants of the Land of the Rising Sun a symbol of eternal love and the fulfillment of desires During the Heyaga era, the festival was called "Petition for Mastery" and was a privilege of the imperial court, which at that time was located in the old capital of the country, Kyoto Ordinary Japanese began to celebrate the Tanabata Festival in the early Edo period - in the second half of the 17th century In honor of the holiday, girls were wished for skill in sewing and weaving, boys - in handwriting when writing poetry on thin pieces of paper The hieroglyphs were written with the dew of taro leaves, the plant from which the ink was made Over time, the ancient traditions mixed with the customs of the Buddhist Obon ceremony, part of which was the launching of paper lanterns Today, the main ritual of the Tanabata Love Festival is for young people to write wishes in poetic form on long colored strips of paper, tanzaku They are hung, like a thousand years ago, on young bamboo shoots - sasatake The shoots were actively growing, so it was believed that the hopes of lovers would reach heaven faster In addition to tanzaku, trees are decorated for good luck with paper lanterns and origami figures in the shape of cranes, wallets, kimonos and sea abodes On the night before the holiday, parades and concerts are held, folk songs are heard and fireworks thunder Most of the wishes of girls and boys are of a love nature, so tanzaku are often shaped like hearts Bamboo branches decorated with strips of paper are found along riverbeds and lakes, near shopping centers, cafes and restaurants On the night of July 7, the Japanese leave the house in light kimonos, raise their heads up and make sure that miracles happen and dreams come true Because in the sky in Tanabata once a year two stars meet - Vega and Altair