Tanabata, the star festival

Tanabata, also known as the "star festival", takes place on the 7th day of the 7th month of the year, when, according to a Chinese legend, the two stars Altair and Vega, which are usually separated from each other by the milky way, are able to meet.

During Tanabata, Japaneses write two wishes on two colorful pieces of paper (called tanzaku), and hang these pieces of paper on a specially erected bamboo tree. They believe that the wishes will become true.

I remember that my sensei during the extensive Japanese course explained to me why they put their wishes on the bamboo tree, she said that the tree will take these wishes to god. She asked me then to write two wishes and put them on the tree. So, I said that I cannot because my religion forbids me to do that, if I want to ask something from god, I should ask him directly. Elhamdulileh, she respected my opinion ^_^ without any problems.

The problem with Tanabata is that Japaneses celebrate it in schools, teachers asks children to hang their wishes on bamboo trees and tell them different stories on Tanabata. For a muslim child, believing that the tree will make their wishes true is not good. It is very difficult to raise a child islamically in Japan, since Japaneses still believe in such matters. The good thing with Japaneses is that they respect other religions, when a muslim asks teachers that his child will not participate in such celebrations, they accept without any problem.

History of Tanabata:
Tanabata originated more than 2,000 years ago with an old Chinese tale called Kikkoden. Once there was a weaver princess named Orihime and a cow herder prince named Hikoboshi living in space. After they got together, they were playing all the time and forgot their jobs. The king was angry at them and separated them on opposite sides of the Amanogawa River (Milky Way). The king allowed them to meet only once a year on July 7th. This is why tanabata is also called the Star Festival. People say that Orihime and Hikoboshi can't meet each other if July 7th is rainy, so they pray for good weather and also make wishes for themselves. From (http://gojapan.about.com/cs/japanesefestivals/a/tanabata.htm)