Did you enjoy Tanabata?
This year (2021), July 7th was cloudy in Japan.
But I did Tanabata food with my mother.
Somen is traditional food for Tanabata in Japan
![](https://vidaennippon.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/IMG_8685.jpg)
I was surprised when I heard that Japanese people have been eating Somen for Tanabata since the Heian period.
![Kinako](https://vidaennippon.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Kinako-FINAL-DESIGN-SQUARE-02-150x150.png)
That’s 1000 years ago!
Recently, some people eat Chirashizushi (sushi) with cute decorations in Tanabata, but I made Somen and follow the tradition!
Tanabata somen in 2021 (Tanabata food)
![](https://vidaennippon.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/IMG_8731.jpg)
This is the Tanabata plate my mother and I did.
.
.
![](https://vidaennippon.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/IMG_8822.jpg)
![](https://vidaennippon.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/IMG_8804.jpg)
I got a leaf of “Haran” from the front yard and put it on the plate.
This is just a decoration. (This leaf is inedible)
.
.
![](https://vidaennippon.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/IMG_8715.jpg)
While we were boiling Somen, we used a cookie cutter to cut the carrot into a star shape.
If you don’t have a cutter, you can cut the ingredients into a star shape with a knife.
![Kinako](https://vidaennippon.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Kinako-FINAL-DESIGN-SQUARE-02-150x150.png)
The cucumber was smaller than a cookie cutter and I did the star shape with a knife!
It was difficult, though!
.
.
![](https://vidaennippon.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/IMG_8742.jpg)
Decorating somen inside the bamboo basket is my mother’s idea.
It looked so cute and easy to eat somen, too
Tanabata food (Somen) in 2021
![](https://vidaennippon.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/IMG_8731.jpg)
This year, the weather was not good.
But I made a wish!
I hope my dream will come true!!
![Kinako](https://vidaennippon.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Kinako-FINAL-DESIGN-SQUARE-02-150x150.png)
I hope your wishes will be granted, too!