Sendai's Tanabata Festival is one of the largest and most popular summer festivals in Tohoku. It celebrates an ancient Chinese legend about star-crossed lovers Orihime and Hikoboshi, with decorations including bright streamers, multicoloured handmade decorations, and people wearing vivid yukata (summer kimono). Every year, a fireworks display is held the night before the festival starts on August 6th. During the three days of festivities, visitors to Sendai can explore near-infinite numbers of Tanabata decorations that feature symbols like waste baskets for cleanliness and nets for plentiful catches. The romantic story behind the event comes from a centuries-old tradition, depicting the doomed love between a weaving princess and a cow-herding boy whose actions disrupted the heavens. They were only allowed to meet once a year – the seventh day of the seventh month – which has become modern day Tanabata.