Tanabata Countdown
Wednesday, July 7, 2027
Tanabata 2027 is on Wednesday, July 7, 2027 — that’s 345 days away.
What is Tanabata?
Tanabata is a traditional festival observed each year. Tanabata, Japan's 'Star Festival', is celebrated on July 7.
Also known as: Star Festival.
When is Tanabata in 2027?
Tanabata 2027 is on Wednesday, July 7, 2027. Tanabata, Japan's 'Star Festival', is celebrated on July 7.
How many days until Tanabata?
There are 345 days until Tanabata, which falls on Wednesday, July 7, 2027. That’s 345 days · about 49 weeks · about 11 months.
What day of the week is Tanabata 2027 on?
Tanabata 2027 falls on a Wednesday (Wednesday, July 7, 2027).
Is Tanabata a public holiday?
Tanabata is widely observed, but it is not an official public holiday in the countries we currently track.
- Date
- Wednesday, July 7, 2027
- Type
- Traditional Festivals
- Observed by
- 1 country
- Duration
- 1 day
- Frequency
- Annual
Tanabata, Japan's 'Star Festival', is celebrated on July 7. Rooted in the legend of two star-crossed lovers who meet once a year across the Milky Way, it is a summer day when people write wishes on colourful paper strips and hang them on bamboo branches.
History
Tanabata traces its roots to the Chinese Qixi festival and its beloved legend of the weaver maiden and the cowherd, two lovers set apart in the heavens. This tale travelled to Japan alongside much continental learning and, by the Nara period in the eighth century, was being observed at the imperial court. There it merged with two native strands: Kikkoden, a night of praying for skill in weaving, needlework and the arts, and an older purification rite in which a chosen maiden wove cloth on a special loom to welcome the gods. The very name Tanabata is thought to descend from that loom, tana-bata. For centuries the celebration remained an elegant court affair, but during the Edo period (1603-1868) it blossomed into a festival of the townspeople. Families and neighbourhood schools began writing wishes on tanzaku, slender coloured strips of paper, and tying them to freshly cut bamboo. Children in particular hoped for finer handwriting and progress in their studies, echoing Tanabata's long link to craft and learning. Decorated bamboo soon lined the streets each seventh night of the seventh lunar month. When Japan adopted the Western calendar in the Meiji era, communities divided over timing, and to this day most regions celebrate on July 7 while others keep the older reckoning in early August. Large civic festivals grew up alongside the home custom; the grand Sendai Tanabata, revived by local merchants in 1927, remains the most famous, drawing millions beneath its towering paper streamers. Today the festival is enjoyed across Japan and increasingly abroad, wherever bamboo and paper wishes greet the summer.
Meaning
At its heart Tanabata is a festival of hope given shape. It retells the tender tale of Orihime the weaver and Hikoboshi the cowherd, the bright stars Vega and Altair, kept apart across the Milky Way and allowed to reunite for a single night each year. Writing a wish and tying it to swaying bamboo becomes a small, hopeful act, a way of reaching toward something longed for, whether in love, learning, craft or the season ahead. The festival also marks a gentle turning of summer. Looking up to find the two stars, sharing chilled somen noodles and strolling beneath streamers that ripple in the warm evening air, people reconnect with family, neighbours and a story handed down for more than a thousand years. Tanabata carries no solemn creed; its meaning lies in the quiet joy of wishing, remembering and gathering together under the summer night sky.
Around the world
Traditions
Writing wishes on tanzaku
People write hopes and wishes on colourful paper strips called tanzaku and tie them to bamboo branches set up at homes, schools and shopping streets.
Bamboo decorations
Bamboo is adorned with tanzaku and handmade paper ornaments such as streamers and paper cranes; the decorated branches are a signature sight of the season.
The legend of Orihime and Hikoboshi
Families retell the story of the two stars, Vega and Altair, reunited across the Milky Way, and look up to find them in the summer night sky.
Regional Tanabata festivals
Cities hold large public celebrations with vast paper-streamer displays, parades and food stalls; Sendai's August festival is among the most famous.
Festive foods
Somen
Thin chilled wheat noodles served with a light dipping sauce, the traditional Tanabata dish whose fine strands evoke weaving threads and the Milky Way.
Takoyaki
Savoury grilled octopus balls, a favourite from the food stalls that line summer festival grounds.
Kakigori
Shaved ice topped with sweet flavoured syrup, a refreshing treat enjoyed in the July heat.
Tanabata dates by year
Frequently asked questions
When is Tanabata?
Tanabata is celebrated on July 7 in most of Japan. Some regions, such as Sendai, keep the traditional reckoning and hold their festival in early August.
What is Tanabata?
Tanabata is Japan's Star Festival, a summer celebration built around the legend of the weaver star Orihime and the cowherd star Hikoboshi, who meet once a year across the Milky Way.
Why do people write wishes on tanzaku?
Tanzaku are small colourful strips of paper on which people write wishes and hopes. Hanging them on bamboo carries the old custom of praying for skill in crafts and studies, now widened to wishes of every kind.
What is the story behind Tanabata?
The legend tells of Orihime, a weaver, and Hikoboshi, a cowherd, so devoted to each other that their work was neglected. Separated across the Milky Way, they are allowed to reunite only on the seventh night of the seventh month.
Why is bamboo used at Tanabata?
Freshly cut bamboo grows tall and straight and is believed to carry wishes upward toward the heavens. Families decorate the branches with tanzaku and folded paper ornaments, then often float or burn them afterward.
What foods are eaten at Tanabata?
Somen, thin chilled wheat noodles, are the classic Tanabata dish, their fine strands recalling the weaver's threads and the Milky Way. Festival stalls also serve grilled and sweet summer treats.
Is Tanabata a public holiday in Japan?
No. Tanabata is a cherished cultural festival rather than an official public holiday, so shops, schools and offices stay open. Even so, its festive spirit fills streets, train stations and homes across Japan every July.
What are the seven traditional Tanabata decorations?
Besides tanzaku, bamboo is hung with seven kinds of ornament, each carrying a wish: paper kimono for skill and protection, folded cranes for family health and long life, purses for prosperity, nets for a good harvest or catch, streamers recalling weaving threads, and paper baskets for cleanliness and thrift.
Where is the largest Tanabata festival held?
Sendai, in northern Japan, hosts the country's most famous Tanabata festival, held in early August. Its downtown arcades are draped with enormous paper-and-bamboo streamers, and the celebration draws several million visitors each year.
What do the five colours of tanzaku represent?
Traditional tanzaku come in five colours, blue-green, red, yellow, white and black or purple, drawn from an old five-element system. They were once believed to help ward off misfortune, and today they simply make the bamboo bright with wishes.
Related
Date source: Fixed Gregorian calendar date · time zone Asia/Tokyo. Spotted an error? Report it — we respond within 48 hours.