 |
| "Hope for tomorrow": photo, collage, digital |
2GN2S ...
Celebrating Tanabata
Japan celebrates Tanabata (Star Festival) by launching sky lanterns at Shinjuku Sumitomo Building’s Sankaku Hiroba square. The venue is covered by a glass roof, so that the event can still go on even when it rains.
Tanabata is a traditional Japanese festival, where people write wishes
on strips of paper and hang them on bamboo branches. This three-day
event, however, did things differently. Here, strips of
wish-inscribed paper are attached to the bottom of modern sky lanterns
lit with LED instead of candles, making them safer and super
kid-friendly. There was music performances and food stalls at the
event.
The history of Tanabata goes back over 2,000 years, and is based on an old Chinese tale. There once was a weaver princess named Orihime, the daughter of the Sky King, and a cow herder prince named Hikoboshi. They lived peacefully and industriously beside the “heavenly river” of the Milky Way. After the two met each other and fell in love, they began neglecting their work: Orihime ceased weaving cloth, and Hikoboshi allowed his cows to wander all around the skies. This angered the king, so as punishment he separated the two lovers across the Milky Way.
Eventually, the king relented somewhat and allowed Orihime and Hikoboshi to see each other once a year on the seventh day of the seventh month. The legend stresses that Orihime and Hikoboshi cannot meet if the weather is rainy, so it’s customary to pray for good weather on this day.
Update ...
|
"I humbly beg forgiveness for the evil committed by so many Christians against the Indigenous peoples."
Pope Francis, apologizing to the Indigenous people of Canada on Monday for decades of abuse that occurred at residential schools, many of which were run by the Catholic Church. The Pope is currently on a weeklong trip to Canada -- which he has called a "penitential pilgrimage" -- to recognize the damage done to Indigenous children who were taken from their families, banned from using their native language, forced to abandon their culture and in many cases abused physically, sexually, and emotionally. |
 |
| White-tailed Jay |
Thanks for coming by today
4 comments:
"Hope for tomorrow" is something we all need desperately right now. We are supposed to have a very cold winter in our houses here in Europe. But at least we still have houses. There are so many who already lost them. So, let's hope for the best possible!
Your art is what I call LOVE. :-)
Thanks Elenor. I agree, we don't have to look fr to see those is great need.
Awwww, thanks John. A compliment from you means so much to me.
Post a Comment