Sasa no ha sara-sara
軒端にゆれる
Nokiba ni yureru
お星様 キラキラ
Ohoshi-sama kira-kira
金銀砂子
Kingin sunago
The bamboo leaves rustle, rustle,
Shaking away in the eaves.
The stars go twinkle, twinkle;
Gold and silver grains of sand.
(Traditional Tanabata song)
Today is the Tanabata day.
What is Tanabata?
Tanabata, “the night of the seventh”, is a holiday usually celebrated on July 7th every year. It has roots in the Chinese Qi Xi festival, but has a unique character in Japanese culture. It is primarily celebrated at night time when the stars are in view. Many local areas held the festivals in parks around July 7th, and there is often a call for people to turn off their lights in the evening so that the stars, Vega and Altair, will be more easily visible.
The hanging wish papers on the bamboo branch. Hirose-kun took the branch from somewhere.
As many festivals around the world, Tanabata also have several folk tales behind the festival. The most famous folklore originated from Chinese legend about love story between Niulang (Altair) the cow herder and Zhinu (Vega) the beautiful fairy. If you ever heard the legend of Jaka Tarub and Seven Goddess you will find similarities between them including the plot of Niulang steal the fairy’s clothes. You can find their tragic love story in another site if you want. This story give several cultural impact to China and even influence Japan, Korea and Vietnam's culture with their own story version. The Chinese legend was passed to Japan during the feudal period and combined with traditional local customs to become an official event at the Imperial Court. Soon, commoners began observing this festival with different localities developing their own distinctive ways of celebrating. Niulang’s Japanese version was called Hikoboshi (cow herder star) and Zhinu version as Orihime (weaving princess).
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 a few days around August 7, while the others are still held on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month of the traditional Japanese lunisolar calendar, which is usually in August in the gregorian calendar.
Hirose-kun hanging the wish paper to the bamboo branch
Recently in Japan, people celebrate Tanabata by writing wishes or sometimes with poems on a small piece of paper and hanging or tied them on bamboo branch with some other decoration. To ensure secrecy, the bamboo is placed into a nearby river or burned after the festival ends. Originally, these wishes were meant to be for increased abilities or talents, but today can be any wish deeply desired.
The Tanabata Festival is celebrated throughout Japan with a variety of carnivals and customs. Many regions hold decoration competitions or parades, and some even have beauty pageants to crown a Miss Tanabata. Special decorations like paper kimono and cranes are hung to ask for specific blessings such as long life or good business. Colorful paper streamers decorate the streets in honor of the strips of cloth used by the weaver of the legend.
We also celebrate Tanabata in our laboratory by write our wish on a small piece of paper and hanging it on a bamboo branch. Takero write a wish if he can take a cute cat as his pet. Dai-chan wish a peace world without violence (hehehe... seriously???), The others wish to get a good job after graduate from university, since the economy crisis hit Japan and make it harder to get. I just wish for good health and wealth in my life, a wish to the supreme God, not to the star.
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