08/07/2026
03.07.2026 - Today’s theme was Tanabata (Japanese Star Festival).
For that day (7th July), Japanese hangs millions of wishes and paper ornaments on bamboo — for two lovers who are only allowed to meet once a year.
It's called Tanabata, the Star Festival, and Japan has kept this date for over 1,270 years!
The legend: Orihime, a weaver princess, and Hikoboshi, a cowherd, fell so deeply in love that they abandoned their work.
Her father, the Sky King, separated them on opposite banks of the Milky Way as punishment.
However, he couldn't bear his daughter's tears — so he allowed one reunion a year, on the 7th night of the 7th month.
The two lovers are real stars: Vega and Altair, which genuinely sit on opposite sides of the Milky Way in that night’s sky.
So every July 7th, in a lots of public spaces such as stations and libraries, there are filled with bamboo branches, and people hang paper strips called tanzaku carrying their wishes.
The children started with their favourite game Fruit Basket with Tanabata theme. Then followed by writing their own wishes on tanzaku - the most popular wish was ‘having a pet!’, from a dog to an axolotl. The children also enjoyed designing Orihime and Hikoboshi’s clothes. We saw some very imaginative and colourful ideas✨
Also the children who participated JaLaChamp (Japanese Language Championship for Young Lerners UK 2026) in February received their certificates. It was a video competition which theme was ‘my (our) favourite sandwiches’ and ours went through as one of the finalists! The ceremony was taken place last month in London.
The day finished with the graduation. Sadly, two children are leaving to go to secondary school in September😢 It was a sad moment as they’ve been attending since reception year! Hopefully we’ll see them sometimes as volunteers😊
By Aiko
📷✨We are now on Instagram! You can see what our other groups are up to too — come follow along!
#バイリンガル #日本語教育 #卒業式 #七夕
