プログレッシブ和英中辞典(第4版)の解説
たなばた（まつり）【七夕（祭り）】
the Tanabata Festival; the Star Festival (celebrated on 「July 7 [August 7])
説明
Tanabata is a festival which celebrates the reunion in the sky of the star-crossed lovers Altair (Hikoboshi) and Vega (Orihime). It is said that the pair, separated by the Milky Way, are allowed to cross that river and meet just once a year. On that day, the seventh day of the seventh month of the lunar calendar, people make offerings and set up bamboo branches in their gardens. They write their wishes on small pieces of colorful paper and hang them from the bamboo branches. This festival is said to have become popular among the general public in the Edo period.（意訳：７月７日の夜，天の川の両岸に別れ別れになっている彦星と織姫が，年に一度再会するという故事にちなんだ星を祭る年中行事．この日，庭先に供物を供え，葉竹を立て，願い事を書いた短冊を飾り付ける．この風習が民間に広がったのは江戸時代と言われている）