Jul 07, 2022
Tanabata 2022
This Doodle’s Key Themes
Today’s Doodle honors Tanabata (七夕), a Japanese festival celebrating the timeless tale of two star-crossed lovers named Orihime and Hikoboshi. As legend goes, the couple can only reunite in the Milky Way on this day each year.
In this story, Orihime is a celestial princess who weaves beautiful garments for her formidable father—The Sky King. One day she meets a cowherd named Hikoboshi and they fall in love. As Orihime spends more time with her sweetheart, she stops weaving for her father. This upsets the Sky King, who sees the relationship as a distraction. Ignoring his daughter’s wishes, he banishes Hikoboshi to the other side of the galaxy.
Once a year during Tanabata a flock of magpies fly across the universe. The iridescent birds form a bridge for Hikoboshi and Orihime to cross and find each other. But poor weather conditions can prevent the magpies from reaching the end of the galaxy.
That’s why people across Japan wish for clear skies every Tanabata, so that the ill-fated lovers won't have to wait another year to meet. It is customary for people to write their wishes on a colorful strip of paper (tanzaku).
As depicted in today’s artwork, people celebrate Tanabata by enjoying the beautiful, cascading garlands that hang throughout Japan.
Happy Tanabata to all who celebrate! May your deepest wishes come true this year.
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