7/7 is Tanabata, a Japanese holiday and festival based on an old legend.
Orihime (The star Vega) is the daughter of Tentei, the King of all the heavens. She weaves clothing on the banks of the Amanogawa (The Milky Way. In Japanese, it literally translates to the River of the Heavens). Day in and day out, she wove clothing for her father, putting a lot of love and effort into her craft.
Orihime worked so hard every day that she never had the opportunity to meet anyone and fall in love. Tentei heard her concerns and sorrows, so he introduced her to Hikoboshi (The star Altair), the Cowherd, who lived on the other side of the Amanogawa.
Orihime and Hikoboshi fell in love and got married. They were so smitten with each other that they spent all of their time together.
However, because they spent all of their time together, Orihime and Hikoboshi neglected their duties. Orihime stopped weaving clothing, and all of Hikoboshi’s cows strayed all over the heavens because he wasn’t herding them.
This angered Tentei, and he separated the couple by putting them back on opposite sides of the Amanogawa river.
The separation was extremely hard on Orihime, and she begged her father to be able to see her husband again. Tentei said that as long as she got all of her work done, she could go see him once a year, on the seventh day of the seventh month.
When she got to the Amanogawa on the promised day, she was distraught to find out that there was no bridge connecting to the other side of the river. Orihime sank down on her side of the river and sobbed.
Her tears attracted a flock of magpies, and they formed a bridge over the river with their wings so Orihime and Hikoboshi could meet.
According to legend, if it rains on July 7th, the promised day of Tanabata, the magpies won’t be able to go to Orihime and Hikoboshi because the rain will make the river rise. Then Orihime and Hikoboshi will have to wait another year to meet.
Every year for Tanabata, we pray for the weather to be sunny so that the couple are able to see each other.
Other Tanabata customs include writing wishes of tanzaku, small strips of paper. We hang them on bamboo trees so that they may come true. Often times, the bamboo trees are burned after the festival, or put in the river to float away.
Decorations are a huge part of Tanabata,and people often do origami to make cranes, chains of paper, and other creations to celebrate.
The celebrations also vary by region but for the most part there is usually some sort of Japanese festival to celebrate, and eating cold somen noodles. It’s said that the thin, white noodles look like the Amanogawa, and symbolizes Orihime’s weaving. Some people say it’s also a wish for a healthy summer. Known as Tanabata somen, it’s special because the food is also decorated. Vegetables, eggs, hams, or other foods are cut into star shapes to represent the stars of Orihime and Hikoboshi.
There’s also a song for this festival, called Tanabata-Sama!
May all your wishes come true on this Tanabata day, and may Orihime and Hikoboshi see each other this year due to sunny weather!
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