Have you heard of the Japanese Tanabata festival?

The festival is usually held on July 7, and celebrates the meeting of two stars, Orihime (Vega of the constellation Lyra) and Hikoboshi (Altair of the constellation Aquila). The festival is said to originate from the middle of 8th century, when the ancient Chinese festival to pray for good needlework skills was joined to the Japanese festival to pray for a good harvest. The Tanabata festival was first only held within the imperial court, but had spread among the ordinary citizens by the Edo period (around the 17th and 18th centuries).

The story behind Tanabata is quite romantic. Once upon a time in the universe, the stars Orihime (the weaving princess) and Hikoboshi (cow herder star) met and fell in love with each other. However, they were so much in love that, after the marriage, Orihime would no longer weave cloth and Hikoboshi would no longer herd cows. The god of the universe became mad, and separated the two by laying the huge Milky Way river between them. Ever since then, Orihime and Hikoboshi are allowed to see each other only once a year on Tanabata, the night of July 7.

The form of the Tanabata festival has changed as time has passed, and now people celebrate it by writing their wishes on small pieces of paper and hanging them on bamboo branches, sometimes with other decorations. Not many people practice the custom within their families any more, but we can still find bamboo trees in public places such as schools, local shopping arcades, or inside large retail stores.

The fun part of Tanabata is not only making a wish and writing it on a piece of paper, but also looking at other people’s wishes that are hanging on the bamboo branches. Here are just a few examples of the fun wishes : “I want my new car to be delivered as soon as possible.” (Maybe you should call your dealer and ask for that wish directly!), “I hope my wife gets back home every night.” (uh-oh, maybe it’s a bit too serious for Tanabata festival), “I want to marry someone from abroad.” (Hmm, this wish may come true). As you see, you can find a wide variety of wishes on Tanabata bamboo trees.

We are going to hold Milky Way ZUMBA lesson on the 8th of July 2014 celebrating Tanabata.

Come and join in!!

So, what wish will you make upon the stars on ?