７ 　 Tanabata:七夕（The Star Festival)：

＊Tanabata : The Star Festival came to Japan from China during the Nara period and is based on the folk legend of the Cowherd Star (Altair) and the Weaver Star (Vega), two lovers. It is believed that they would meet only once a year on the Milky Way (Amanogawa)on the seventh day of the seventh month of the lunar calendar. The Japanese name Tanabata, written with the characters for 'seven' and 'evening' is a phonetic writing of Tanabatatsume-the Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese character for the ‘Women Weaver’—. Prayers for academic proficiency or wishes are written on oblong cards(Tanzaku) attached to bamboo poles along with multicolored streamers of paper and other decorations for display.　Somen noodles date　back　to　the　event　which　the　star　festival　originated　from,　while　　the　food　served　is　sometimes　decorated with the leaves of paper mulberry.

(To be continued)