🌟 Tanabata Star Festival

Tanabata, observed on 7 July (or by the lunar calendar in some regions), celebrates the annual meeting of the deities Orihime (Vega) and Hikoboshi (Altair), separated by the Milky Way for the rest of the year. People write wishes on coloured strips of paper (tanzaku) and hang them on bamboo branches alongside paper decorations. Major cities such as Sendai hold week-long festivals with enormous bamboo streamers dangling from buildings, drawing millions of visitors.