2007-08-17 16:33:59 · 8 answers · asked by prettyinpink972 1 in Society & Culture ➔ Mythology & Folklore
"One of the first festivals of the summer in Japan is Tanabata on July 7th, known as the Star Festival. On the evening of Tanabata, it is traditional to write wishes on long thin strips of coloured paper and tie them to bamboo branches. Like western traditions of wishing on a shooting star or throwing pennies into a wishing well, you can wish for anything you like... and if you wish hard enough it just might come true!"
"The origin of this festival is a very romantic ancient legend imported from China to Japan in the 8th Century. It is a tragic story of star-crossed lovers. The tale goes as follows:
Once upon a time, the emperor of the galaxy and his beautiful daughter, princess Orihime, lived on one side of the Milky Way. The princess was a very hard-working girl; every day she wove from early in the morning till late at night, so she never had time to go out and meet a nice man.
The emperor, who was concerned about this, decided to introduce a man to his daughter. He chose a hard-working cow-herd called Hikoboshi, who lived on the other side of the galaxy. Orihime liked Hikoboshi at first sight and the two soon fell deeply in love. However, the princess soon started to neglect her weaving. This infuriated her father, and in anger he separated the lovers, sending Hikoboshi back to the other side of the Milky Way. They were so upset that they wept day and night.
The emperor, thinking it was too harsh on them, decided to let the couple meet just once a year. So on the seventh day of the seventh month each year he allows Orihime and Hikoboshi to go across the bridge of the Milky Way and meet each other. However, they can only meet if the weather is fine. If you look up at the night sky on July 7th, you might see two stars Vega (Orihime) and Altair (Hikoboshi) meet in the sky."
"Ironically though, July 7th is in the midst of the rainy season in Japan, so the two lovers cannot always meet."
"In some areas, the festival is held in August instead of July, in accordance with the old calendar. The Tanabata festival in Sendai, Miyagi prefecture, is among the most famous in the in the country."
2007-08-17 16:44:41 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Just make a wish every day at 11:11. It's a lot more common, and you get lots of wishes!
2007-08-17 23:40:00 · answer #2 · answered by doosookoo 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
They are rare, but your wishes do not come true unless you wish for something likely to happen, like "I hope I find a penny in between the couch seats".
2007-08-17 23:39:04 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well a falling star is the death of some planet and I have no idea as to why people believed that has any magic qualities...
2007-08-18 00:14:19 · answer #4 · answered by kilroymaster 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Did your parents forget to tell you that the lucky star, was a cruel joke.
2007-08-17 23:40:43 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
i don't know why it would be lucky, that poor meteorite is doomed to burn uo and be destroyed, whats lucky about that. Your wishes never come true anyway, its just a fairy tale.
2007-08-17 23:40:29 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
b/c they're so rare
only if u beleive!!!
its just a superstition
2007-08-17 23:37:03 · answer #7 · answered by JukeboxJacob! 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
they dont
2007-08-18 00:17:20 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋