There are festivals held throughout the year in Japan. I have already touch on one of them in a previous post (Taiko Festival). But really, summer is when it all comes together. There are several hanabi or firework festivals, O-Bon or the celebration of the dead (not to be confused with the Mexican holiday la dia de los muertos), and Tanabata or the star festival. Perhaps you are familiar with the story of the stars Vega (the brightest star in the constellation Lyra) and Altair (the brightest star in the constellation Aquila). Vega was the daughter/princess of a great king and an excellent weaver. Altair was but a poor herdsman. The king decided to have them marry. Soon, the two neglected their work and played together all day and night. The king, angered by this, took back his daughter and separated the two with a river (the Milky Way). Woeful, the two returned to their work and the kind, upon seeing their repentance, allowed them to see each other once a year. That day is July 7th. However, the wording is "the seventh day of the seventh lunar month" which sometimes results in August. Consequently, there are several festivals held toward the end of summer. Traditionally, yukata are worn during such festivals, a lighter version of a kimono made of of cotton:
So, my town decided to hold a yukata party, similar to the kimono party last fall, but with a festival twist. There were some familiar faces and some new ones. My bestest bud George came all the way from his study abroad school in Kyushu to visit me. (:D)
Activities included the tradition of writing down wishes on paper and tying them to bamboo leaves, watching a Chinese lion dance, and participating (albeit against our will) in the traditional dance with two sticks and song:
Sasa no ha sara-sara (笹の葉 さらさら)
The bamboo leaves rustle, rustle
Nokiba ni yureru (軒端にゆれる)
shaking away in the eaves.
Ohoshi-sama kira-kira (お星様 キラキラ)The stars go twinkle, twinkle;
Kingin sunago (金銀砂子)
Gold and silver grains of sand.
The highlight for me had to be when I was asked to tell the story of Tanabata in front of the entire room. I had only just learned the Japanese version of the tale myself and was extremely nervous.
