Italian
Today in Japan, Tanabata is celebrated, a magical night when all wishes can come true thanks to the meeting of the star-crossed lovers.
As in the rest of the world, in Japan there are ancient holidays that are eagerly awaited and always celebrated with great joy. Among the most romantic and beloved is certainly Tanabata (七夕), literally “seventh night,” one of the gosekku (五節句), or the five major festivals of the year.
Derived from the Chinese festival Qixi (you can hear its story in the movie “The Karate Kid – The Legend Continues” with Jackie Chan), Tanabata was introduced to Japan in 755 AD and tells the legend of two lovers, Orihime and Hikoboshi. The former was the daughter of Tentei, the father of the sky, and diligently wove on the banks of the celestial river Amanogawa (the Milky Way) until she met the shepherd Hikoboshi who brought his herds to drink on the other side of the river.
Inevitably, the two fell in love immediately, neglecting their duties. This infuriated the Heavenly Father who decided to separate them forever. The weaver cried a thousand tears, leading Tentei to allow them to meet only once a year on the seventh night of the seventh month.
The two stars, Vega and Altair in Western astronomy, are indeed separated by the Milky Way all year round and only come close on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month of the lunisolar calendar. This would make the date variable from year to year, but once the Gregorian calendar was adopted, it was officially moved to July 7th.
The Festival of Wishes
Depending on the regions of Japan, this festival is celebrated on different days and in various ways. A common feature (which connects them to the classic Japanese Matsuri and Obon, the festival of the dead) is to stroll in Yukata (summer kimono) through the city streets illuminated by typical paper lanterns.
The streets are festively adorned to attract the happiness and love of the two celestial lovers. There are stands with typical foods, traditional masks, games like fishing for fish with a paper net, and above all countless origami and Tanzaku. The perhaps most typical and characteristic tradition of the Tanabata festival is to hang strips of colored paper (somewhat like the garments woven by Orihime) on a bamboo pole. On these, everyone can write their wish, placing them next to each other, waiting for the wind to carry them away and make them come true.
