Coming up next week is the Japanese “star festival” known as “tanabata”. It usually takes place on the seventh day of the seventh month, meaning July 7, but it can also take place on August 7 in some parts of Japan.

This is because some parts of Japan still follow the lunar calendar. The festival celebrates two stars in the sky that “meet” once per year, on the seventh day of the seventh month. The names of the stars are Hikoboshi and Orihime. It is believed that the Milky Way keeps these two stars, or lovers, apart, and that they can meet just once per annum. The festival is naturally held at night because the stars can only be viewed at night. Large festivals are held around Japan along streets and shopping malls. Big, colorful displays of streamers are a frequent site. One of the customs of the tanabata festival is to write down a wish on a piece of paper. The paper is then hung on a bamboo tree. Sometimes hundreds of these papers can be seen on one tree. The Japanese believe that by doing this their wishes can come true. The star festival is light-hearted and a joyous occasion. Parades, contests, food, carnival games are all part of the landscape at the tanabata festival. If you are ever in Japan it is definitely worth attending a star festival.