Tanabata 2020
Wishes
Two of the Quimper Hittys wrote some wishes on paper and dressed in their finest Kimono…
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Spindle Tree
They have gone to tie the wishes onto the Spindle Tree Euonymus alatus!
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Constance
This year the wishes are all the same…
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Vanilla
…the Medical Health Officer of BC, Dr Bonnie Henry says this at the end of every Covid-19 pandemic update: Be Kind, Be Calm, Be Safe. We can’t think of any better wishes than that.
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Breeze
Tanabata is the Japanese Star Festival, remembering the story of the celestial Weaver Princess Shokujo (Vega) who fell in love with the Cowherd Kengyu (Altair). They were so happy together that they forgot to perform their tasks. The gods became angry because they had no new clothes and the herds were untended. The lovers were sent up to the stars, and separated forever by the milky way. The princess cried so hard they changed their minds a little bit, and they are allowed to visit each other once a year on the seventh day of the seventh month.
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Wishes
In Japan Tanabata is celebrated on the seventh day of the seventh month, and people write wishes onto paper, and tie them onto bamboo. When the breeze blows, the wishes are wafted up to heaven – perhaps to the happy couple, who would be sympathetic to hopes and dreams. We have no bamboo in our garden but we thought the spindle tree was an appropriate substitute, considering it is for a celebration that involves a weaver princess.
Click here for more information about this festival. There are lots of reasons to celebrate the seventh day of the seventh month, – let’s all send good wishes out into the world!
Happy Tanabata!
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Quimper Hittys 
What a beautiful, perfect wish!. Now, my wish would be for all of us to live by it, with open minds and open hearts. Hittys can and do make it happen.
We wish for that too, the Quimper Hittys do their best to help, but even they need help. Kindly comments from faithful readers do work very well to keep their spirits up!
Beautifully costumed Constance and Vanilla have thoughtfully expressed their desires for this time of great upheaval. I so appreciate how carefully and with a great heart’s desire this was carried out.
We do greatly desire more kindness, calmness and safe behaviour…we do all that we can and we know that if everyone else does their best too we will get through this.
Thank you for starting my day with good thoughts and lovely photos!
You are so welcome, we feel encouraged, and hope you do too!
Beautiful kimono’s, beautiful Hittys, beautiful wishes, beautiful story and photos. Just lovely and just what is needed. Thank You.
You are welcome! We enjoyed making the kimono and learning how to put everything together. We love this celebration, and the Hittys love any good reason to wear their finery!
Thank you for the beautiful reminder and for reviving some of my happiest memories. I’ve been so caught up in the daily grind lately that one of the best holidays from my time in Japan completely slipped my mind. You do such good in this world.
You are very kind, we appreciate your kind comments, very much, thank you. We would love to be in Japan for Tanabata some day!
I love this, and I am going to write the dear Dr Bonnie’s words on papers and send them out on the breezes, too! Thank you!
We love Dr Bonnie’s words too, the are very steadying. More wishes like these can only do good in the world!
YES!!!
I’ve hung the same wishes out in the breeze in the black bamboo – Hittys and their humans are always calming, thank you.
We are happy that you have the same wishes that we do! More of Bonnie’s advice floating around can only be a good thing!
This truly is a wonderful and perfect wish for this day and time. I am certainly wishing this for my own poor fractured nation and for all the world. Thank you Quimper HIttys and Quimper Human for this post.
You are welcome, and thanks very much too! The Hittys are always looking for ways to send positive energy into the world, and this festival was a wonderful opportunity to do so (and to dress in their favourite kimono!)
What a beautiful blog. I found you sideways when you commented ln ” one small stitch”. I’ll be back!
I am happy to meet you! Now we have a new “Hitty friend”!