Tanabata - Japanese Star Festival

July 7th is called tanabata in Japan. It's a Japanese tradition wherein people write wishes on tanzaku paper (small colourful strips of paper) and hang them on bamboo branches.

Tanabata story
Once there was a weaver princess named Orihime and a cow her prince named Hikoboshi living in space. After they got together, they were playing all the time and forgot their jobs. The king was angry at them and seperated them on opposite sides of the Amanogawa River (Milky Way). The king allowed them to meet only once a year on July 7th. This is why tanabata is called the Star Festival.