Ask Students About the Tanabata Festival This Week

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Tanabata is a popular holiday in Japan that's right around the corner: Thursday, July 7. This will be a handy conversation topic this week, so let's go over some basic facts about the holiday as well as some questions you can ask.

What is Tanabata?

Tanabata is a holiday based on an ancient tale of two lovers. It is said that they are two stars in the sky who are separated by the milky way, which they can only cross once a year to see each other. This day is the seventh day of the seventh month, hence the date July 7.

While the holiday (and the story it's based on) originated in China, Tanabata has a lot of colorful traditions that are unique to Japan, which we'll get into later.

Can you tell me about the story that the Tanabata festival is based on?
I heard that the Tanabata festival is also called the "star festival." Can you tell me how the holiday is related to the stars?
What are your favorite Tanabata memories?

When is Tanabata?

Tanabata is celebrated on July 7 in most parts of Japan. However, many parts of the country celebrate it in August — when the holiday would take place according to the traditional calendar.

This is the case for the festival held in Sendai, the biggest city in northern Japan. Sendai's Tanabata Festival is one of the biggest and most elaborate celebrations in the country, so if you have any students from the city, make sure to ask them about it next month.

If you teach any Taiwanese students, you can also ask them about this holiday next month. Taiwan's Tanabata (known as "chee-shee") falls on August 4 this year.

How do people celebrate Tanabata?

In Japan, Tanabata is a time to make wishes. People usually write their wishes on a piece of paper and hang them on bamboo, like in the photo below. There is even a children's song about this custom.

What are some things you have wished for on Tanabata? What are some popular wishes people make on Tanabata?
Why do you think people tie their wishes to bamboo and not some other kind of plant, such as a tree?
These days, where do you find bamboo to tie your wishes to?

Many cities, towns, and shopping districts will put up colorful decorations. The main Tanabata decoration is streamers and some places also host contests to see who can make the best ones. You can see some streamers below that are made from hundreds of folded paper cranes and other beautiful paper crafts.

Have you ever made any Tanabata decorations yourself?
Do you decorate your house for Tanabata or any other time of the year?
Do you know how streamers became associated with Tanabata?

Many festivals are hosted to celebrate Tanabata. Like other summer festivals in Japan, Tanabata festivals feature street food vendors and parades.

Some festivals will also have special Tanabata-themed art installations or events. For example, below is a temple festival in Tokyo that makes a milky way out of paper lanterns.

What are some festivals happening near you?
What is your favorite festival food? Why?
Will you dress in traditional clothing for Tanabata?

👋 That’s it for now

We hope you have some fun conversations about Tanabata with your students this week and maybe even next month. Happy tutoring!