Why Do We Celebrate Tanabata?

Write a wish, look toward the stars, and discover Japan's magical festival of bamboo, paper, and hope!

Why do children write their dreams on colorful strips of paper and hang them from bamboo branches? What connects two brilliant stars, a celestial river, and enormous paper streamers? Why Do We Celebrate Tanabata? introduces young readers to the history, legend, and joyful traditions of Japan's beloved Star Festival.

Celebrated across much of Japan on July 7, and in some communities during August, Tanabata tells the story of Orihime, a talented weaver, and Hikoboshi, a cattle herder. Separated by the Milky Way, they are allowed to meet only once each year-on the seventh night of the seventh month.

Here is what you will discover inside:
• A Love Story Among the Stars: Meet Orihime and Hikoboshi and learn why the stars Vega and Altair stand on opposite sides of the Milky Way.
• A Journey Through History: Discover how China's Qixi Festival influenced Japan and blended with an older Japanese weaving tradition during the Nara and Heian periods.
• Wishes on Bamboo: Learn how to write a hope or dream on a tanzaku (wish strip) and why bamboo branches appear in homes, schools, stations, shrines, and shopping streets.
• Decorations with Special Meanings: Explore paper cranes for long life, nets for a good catch, purses for careful saving, and kamigoromo (paper kimonos) connected with weaving and protection.
• Spectacular Festivals: Walk beneath thousands of enormous fukinagashi (windsock streamers) at the Sendai Tanabata Festival and visit colorful celebrations in Hiratsuka, Tokyo, and beyond.
• Summer Food and Fun: Taste cold sōmen (thin wheat noodles), explore lively festival stalls, wear a yukata (light cotton summer robe), and enjoy fireworks, music, and dancing.
• Visual Delight: Enjoy beautiful, minimalist colorful illustrations filled with bamboo, rustling wishes, shining stars, paper ornaments, summer clothing, and dazzling decorations.
• Exciting Fun Facts: Find the Summer Triangle, discover how people once made ink with dew from taro leaves, and see how Japanese communities celebrate Tanabata as far away as Brazil.

Perfect for families, classrooms, homeschoolers, and young cultural explorers, this book celebrates creativity, perseverance, learning, and the courage to put a dream into words.

Grab your copy today, write a wish, and let the stars inspire you!