Tanabata falls either in July (according to the new calendar) or in August (according to the old calendar.) I went to a free event where we learned how to make origami decorations for Tanabata bamboo branches.

It is fairly common to see origami in Japan. For example, a fine restaurant might serve your meal with an origami crane. At my son’s pediatrian, kids can take a free origami (if they want.) Teachers will decorate the walls of the school with homemade posters or calendars (often created by students rather than the busy teacher.) It is less common to buy ready-made decorations in Japan than in the United States.

Putting up my origami. I chose blue to celebrate America’s Independence Day (July fourth.)

My “Tanzaku” (My Tanabata wish is on this rectangular paper.)

I wanted to write “For a Better World” but I ran out of room, so I changed it to “For a Better Word” with “For a Better World” next to that.

We made lots of kinds of origami! This particular tree is fake bamboo, but traditionally people will use real bamboo. Bamboo is common in Japan and also very fast-growing.

Do you want to make the same Tanabata decoration I made? You need a square of paper (it can be a square of newspaper!), a pair of scissors for cutting, and glue or tape to connect the hearts to each other.

Here is a link:

https://www.origami-club.com/tanabata/star-t/index.html

Click the orange oval to look at the directions.

Click the red oval to see it done on Youtube. NOTE: While scissors are required for this origami, a needle for the thread is not. We just taped the string to the origami.)

(To tell the truth, this particular origami is not REAL origami, strictly speaking. Truly authentic origami does not use scissors.)