Tanabata 2017

About
Today’s Doodle honors Tanabata, the Japanese summer festival marked on the lunar calendar where two star-crossed lovers – literally, the stars Altair and Vega – intersect.

The legend behind the festival is romantic and grand. Orihime (Vega) was a gifted weaver, much to the delight of her father, the sky emperor. However, she fell in love with the shepherd Hikoboshi (Altair) and, distracted by one another, they neglected their celestial duties. As punishment, the sky emperor exiled the lovers to opposite ends of the Milky Way. All year, they must work diligently apart from one another – save for the seventh day of the seventh month, when the sky emperor allows them to briefly reunite.

To mark the occasion, long celebratory streamers are hung in public spaces. People also write down wishes on tanzaku – small strips of colored paper – and attach these to bamboo branches in hopes that the star-crossed lovers will grant them. Traditionally, the wishes were for improved weaving and handwriting skills, but wish-seekers today ask for favors of all kinds.

In the days leading up to Tanabata, sky-gazers wistfully observe the journey of the two stars through the heavens, hoping for clear weather so that Orihime and Hikoboshi might meet yet again.