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The
Most Striking Feature about the
Shonan-Hiratsuka Tanabata Festival |
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Tanabata is based on an old romantic Chinese legend about two
stars,Altair and Vega.This legend was brought to Japan as the star
festival and the celebration began to be practiced in Japanese emperor's
court,which came to be in poetry,or prayer for the realization of
love.Thus Samurai feudal lords took on this tradition,which gradually
spread among the general public throughtout the country,so each
area had slightly different way of celebrating Tanabata.
Today,Tanabata is a very popular summertime event in a number of
cities in Japan.The festival in Hiratsuka was started as commerce
rehabilitation work during the post war period,so that one of the
most striking features of the festival is the gorgeous bamboo decoration.
Over time the event has grown in scale and in popularity and includes
the Bamboo Decoration Contest,various kinds of parades and the other
attractions. The festival is also spiced up with Shonan-Hiratsuka
Misses Tanabata elected from Shonan-Hiratsuka Miss Tanabata Beauty
Contest held in advance every year.
Recently The festival has been established as one of the city's
key annual events,so that city itself has long been known as a site
of the Tanabata festival in Japan. |
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