"Happy Tanabata"
Tami Lancut Leibovitz
Tomorrow, July 7th, a very exciting holiday is celebrated in Japan. A holiday that originated from the fairytale of two stars that fell in love but could only meet each other on July 7, once a year. The story tells us that the Milky Way stands between those stars and isolate them until they meet on the same date, once a year. For the same reason, the holiday is also called the “night of the seven”.
.png)
Festivals are hold July 7th- August 7th, depends on your region. During the holiday – it’s believed that you may wish upon a star and write down your wish on a piece of paper the locals refer to as “Tanzaku” – Kids, adults and families celebrate by hanging their Tanzaku on bamboo branch, believing that will help the wish come true. You might have seen those emoji symbols on your Android or Apple devices before, now you know what they mean:
The cities and town celebrating turns into a beautiful array of decorations and colors, tourists flock to the local festivals and the festive atmosphere is seen everywhere
There’s not an official greeting besides Happy Tanabata,
I would love to conclude this article with a short Japanese Tanabata song that will showcase the highlights of the unique holiday:
First, in Japanese: Sasa no ha saara sara,
Nokiba ni yureru,
Ohoshi-sama kira kira,
Kin-gin sunago,
And it’s English meaning: Bamboo-grass leaves flowing in the wind,
Swinging by the edge of the leaves,
Stars are shining,
Like fine gold and silver sand!
Happy holiday and May all your wishes come true!
Learning about traditions and holidays has always been intriguing and fascinating for me,
If you as curious as me and you want to know more about the etiquette language of business and society in different cultures and countries, please visit my website or Amazon to inquire about my book:
The IBL Code: International Business Language.!
Ask Tami
Book Catalog
Video Articles
Tami's Blog