Jul 07, 2025
Tanabata 2025
This annual Tanabata Doodle features Orihime and Hikoboshi meeting in the Milky Way.
This Doodle’s Key Themes
About the Tanabata 2025 Doodle
This annual Doodle celebrates Tanabata, also known as Star Festival, in Japan! On this day every year — the seventh day of the seventh month, the Milky Way separates and allows star-crossed lovers Orihime (the weaver maiden) and Hikoboshi (the cowherd) to meet for just one day.
The artwork depicts the couple’s romantic embrace, surrounded by flying magpies and hanging decorations called tanzaku (paper strips). One popular Tanabata tradition involves writing a wish on these colored pieces of paper and tying them to bamboo branches. It’s believed that the lovers’ reunion brings good fortune and can make wishes come true. Throughout Japan, cities like Sendai and Hiratsuka host extravagant festivals with exciting games and delicious food. Many schools also perform reenactments of the Tanabata tale to teach children the holiday’s origins.
Where this Doodle appeared
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