Stars Festival – Tanabata (Japan)

Stars Festival, known as Tanabata in Japan, is a traditional summer celebration observed nationwide, often on varying dates in different regions. While not a public holiday, it is widely celebrated in public streets and malls. The festival commemorates the mythical reunion of the deities Orihime and Hikoboshi, symbolized by the stars Vega and Altair respectively. According to legend, these celestial lovers are separated by the Milky Way and are permitted to meet only once a year, on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month in the lunisolar calendar.