Star Festival wishes peace all over the world

“Tanabata Day is also known as the “Wish Day” and one of my wishes is everlasting peace all over the world,” said EIC director and instructor Fumiko Mishima.

EIC Marianas, Inc. held the Tanabata Day, also known as the Star Festival, last Saturday at its Nauru Building office in Susupe. Mishima said the festival is actually celebrated in July but the language center opted to celebrate it only last weekend to coincide with the 60th commemoration of the Atomic Bombing in Hiroshima and Nagasaki that ended World War II.

“This day is the Atomic Bombing Day in Hiroshima. It reminds me of the place I came from, Hiroshima,” Mishima said. She said during her brief opening speech during the festival celebration, she could still recall her childhood in Hiroshima when they celebrated the time to commemorate the bombing. “Today is a special day for me and for the Hiroshima people.

Japan consul Takeo Saito, GIG Discotheque manager Frederick Santos, EIC students and other guests attended the event. EIC officers held a storytelling of what the celebration was all about. They also held a “Kanpai,” a toast for the celebration. Fun and games and a musical number also filled the night of the celebration.

“Tanabata” is a Japanese festival celebrated on July 7 every year. Mishima said the festival is also known as the Festival of the Stars. She said the festival is about “Weaver Princess Star and Herdboy Star who fell in love with each other.

The weaver princess star was very good in weaving and she was a daughter of a heavenly king. The two were so in love that they forgot all about their work and the king got so mad at them that he decided that they must be separated. “They were told to live at the opposite sides of the Milky Way.”

Mishima said on the festival people wear kimonos and write their wishes on paper and hang them on bamboo trees. She said they decorate trees with origami and other special decorations. She said it is believed that all wishes hanging on the tree would all come true.

People in Japan also hang many kinds of paper decorations on bamboo branches and place them outside their houses. Japanese people celebrate the day at home and in schools. Many cities and towns also hold the festival and display decorations the main streets. In some regions, people light lanterns and float them on the river, or float bamboo leaves on the river.