The Tanabata Festival, the star festival takes place on the 7th day of the 7th month. July 7th or August 7th in varying parts of Japan, some of which I guess use a different calendar? Tanabata is a festival borrowed from a Chinese myth in which two stars, normally separated by the Mily Way, come together. They are lovers who are only allowed to meet once a year (ok, it is a whole story about the two lovers... I'm too tired to remember it). The Tanabata tradition involves writing your wishes on a piece of paper and hanging them from bamboo. At the big festivals, they have gorgeous paper lanterns, sculptures, etc. everywhere. See the photos below.
Above is Carlos' Tanabata paper that he made at school. He colored the fish and the pink coil (you can't see it) attached to the branch. Given the fact that he, apparently, says "what?" all day to the teachers who speak Japanese to him, I have a feeling he has no idea what he made. He may not even know that he made it. In fact, he may not have even been in the room when it was made.
I have snatched some photos off of the internet for you to see what the tanabata festivals look like. We are going to try to see a small one this weekend, weather permitting.
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