The Star Festival

Tanabata 七夕祭り

The author Lafcadio Hearn once said that,

To ancient Chinese fancy, the Milky Way was a luminous river, – the River of Heaven, – the Silver Stream.

The Japanese also refer to the Milky Way as as the silver river (銀河) and the “river of heaven” (天の川).

Every July 7th, people celebrate the star festival. Called Tanabata (七夕祭り), the festival revolves around two star-crossed lovers, who are also stars in the sky. Forever separated by the silvery river of the Milky Way, people say that it is only on one night a year –the seventh night of the seventh month that they are able to cross the river and meet. To celebrate, children decorate tree branches with slips of paper upon which they write their wishes, and I have heard Chinese friends, who call this festival, which is also celebrated in China, “Chinese Valentine's Day.”

It is really romantic! To write your wish in a slip of washi paper and hang it from the branches of trees…

In Tochigi, people also gathered to watch meteor showers and go firefly viewing (likened to stars) with mooncakes and sake galore. Coming back to LA after twenty-five years, it was—for me-- in so many ways, like the end of night. You would think being married to an astronomer would have alleviated this issue, but it didn't. For my astronomer only has eyes for things with large red shifts and that does not include the stars and moon.

And, anyway, the sky itself has changed at home.

When I was a kid you could easily see the Milky Way from our LA suburb… there were not thousands of stars but definitely hundreds. But now? You cannot see much at all anymore and the Milky Way is long gone. How can only thirty years have changed so much? They say air pollution is dramatically improved since I was a kid so at first, I could not understand the dramatic difference in the sky. I asked everyone. And no one seemed to have given it much thought since for them, the change had happened so gradually.

It was after seeing the stars that night on Mauna Kea three years ago that brought this all home to me. So much has been lost.

I miss the night.