Happy Tanabata! This holiday, also known as the Star Festival, isn't an official Japanese holiday that's taken off work but it's still fun. It's believed that the Milky Way is a river of stars that separates two lovers, Orihime (Vega) and Hikoboshi (Altair). Once a year they get to meet if the sky is clear. If it's cloudy they have to wait until the next year. So far they've been pretty unlucky while I've been in Japan; of the four times I've celebrated this holiday here it's been clear once. Officially the holiday is supposed to be on the Japanese lunisolar 7th day of the 7th month, which is usually in August but a lot of people now celebrate it on July 7th, including in Shiga prefecture where I studied as a student.
To celebrate this holiday, if you celebrate it, you write wishes on strips of paper and tie them to bamboo trees. People often wear yukata (lightweight summer kimono) to all summer celebrations. I wanted to wear the new one I bought in Kyoto at New Year since I hadn't yet. Here's the obi I tied for myself.
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