七夕（たなばた） is translated as “Star Festival” and is observed on 7 July in many parts of Asia. It is based on an ancient Chinese legend of Vega and Altair. The legend says that Vega, 織姫（おりひめ、a weaver princess）, was separated from her cowherd husband Altair, 彦星（ひこぼし), by the Milky Way and that they can see each other only on the night of 7 July. There seem to be 2 versions regarding the reason for their separation. Some say that Vega and Altair were separated because they had too good a time together and Vega stopped producing clothes, which caused a wrath of the heavenly father and they got separated. Others say that the heavenly father sent Altair to the other side of Milky Way because he was too poor to be Vega’s groom. Either way 7 July is the only day in the year when their wish comes true, so 7 July became a day in Japan for people to make a wish. They write their wish on a coloured sheet of paper and hang the sheet onto a branch of a bamboo tree and place the branch outside. This is observed throughout Japan on 7 July.
However, some cities such as Sendai celebrate the 7 July on the lunar calendar and have a much bigger celebration than other parts of Japan. This year, the Sendai Tanabata Festival is set to be between 6 August and 8 August. If you are in the region during that period, you can be part of their street party.
