Tanabata (たなばた or 七夕), meaning "Evening of the seventh", also known as the Star Festival, is a Japanese festival where celebrates the meeting of the deities Orihime and Hikoboshi (represented by the stars Vega and Altair respectively).
According to legend, Orihime and Hikoboshi fell in love and were so crazy about each other that they could not focus on their work. The heavenly God got angry and separated Orihime and Hikoboshi onto the different sides of the Milk Way, or Ama-no-gawa in Japanese.
However, the heavenly God felt sorry for them and allowed them to cross the Ama-no-gawa to meet each other once a year on July 7th.
On this day, many people pray for good weather on July 7th, because if it rains, Orihime and Hikoboshi will not be able to meet up due to the rising water levels of Ama-no-gawa.
Thus, it is said that Tanabata is a special day for lovers because it is the day where lovers reunite.
Come and write down your wishes on Tanzaku (短冊), a small and colourful strips papers and hand them on bamboo branches at J's Gate Dining during Star Festival on this weekend.