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Next: 7 Jul 2027

Tanabata

The Star Festival: wishes written on paper strips are tied to branches of fresh bamboo.

Shitamachi Tanabata Matsuri
Photo: Laika ac, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

What happens

Tanabata, on 7 July, recalls a legend of two lovers, the stars Vega and Altair, who are parted by the Milky Way and may meet once a year. The decoration is a plant rather than a flower. People write wishes on narrow strips of coloured paper, called tanzaku, and tie them to a tall cut bamboo, along with paper chains and streamers. The bamboo stands at the door of a house, in a school or along a shopping street. Sendai holds its large Tanabata a month later, in early August.

The flowers

TanzakuThe coloured paper strips on which wishes are written.

Also part of it, and being written: Bamboo (A freshly cut stem, hung with wishes and paper ornaments.).

More flowers and customs of Tanabata

Decoration Ikenobō池坊 Japan’s oldest and most influential school of ikebana flower arranging 🇯🇵 Japan · Arrangement Place Nitobe Memorial Garden A traditional Japanese tea and stroll garden on the university grounds in Vancouver Vancouver, 🇨🇦 Canada · Botanical garden
About this page

Original text by the EveryPhool desk, written with AI assistance. Background: "Tanabata" on Wikipedia. Customs differ from family to family and place to place. If we have something wrong, tell us.

Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

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