Florence Temko - Origami Holiday Decorations: Make Festive Origami Holiday Decorations with This Easy Origami Book: Includes Origami Book with 25 Fun & Easy Projects

ABOUT CHRISTMAS, HANUKKAH, AND KWANZAA CHRISTMAS Christmas was first celebrated in Europe in the fourth century on the 25th day of December to commemorate the birth of the Christ child. Since then, many symbols have become associated with the festivity. Decorating evergreen trees with ornaments became an enduring tradition, representing long life and immortality. In the sixteenth century German people commonly decorated fir trees with flowers, fruit, and even pieces of paper. Candles were added later on to emulate the twinkling of stars. The name of Santa Claus, the gift giver, is the abbreviation of St.

Nicholas, a Turkish bishop who performed many loving acts of kindness in the fourth century and became known as the patron saint of children. His fame spread throughout Europe. In the United States he was popularized by the poem "'Twas the Night Before Christmas" written by Clement Moore in 1863 and illustrated with the now often-reproduced images by artist Thomas Nast. According to legend Santa Claus lives at the North Pole and on Christmas Eve travels on his sled drawn by reindeer to deliver gifts for boys and girls. HANUKKAH The Jewish Festival of Lights, called Hanukkah, is celebrated by lighting candles for eight consecutive evenings at sunset. The ceremony commemorates a miracle that happened after Jews won a battle in the year 165 B.C.

As recorded in the Book of Maccabees, two thousand years ago a Syrian king, Antiochus, governed Israel. He wanted to force the Jews to give up their belief in one God and take on the Greek religion. The Jews struggled to keep their own traditions. When their sacred temple in Jerusalem was overrun by the Syrian army, the Maccabee brothers fled and formed a fighting band, which defeated the Syrian soldiers after three years. On their return to Jerusalem the Maccabees wanted to rededicate their temple by lighting the sacred oil lamp. According to legend they could only find a tiny bit of sacred oil, expected to last for a single day.

Much to their surprise the light continued to burn for eight days. In memory of this miracle Jewish families celebrate Hanukkah every year. KWANZAA In the 1960s African American people began celebrating a seven-day holiday during December to honor their African heritage. They named it "Kwanzaa," a Swahili word meaning "first fruits of the harvest." Kwanzaa is now widely observed in the United States in homes, schools, churches, museums, and libraries. Because Kwanzaa is an ethnic festival, it can be celebrated side-by-side with Christmas and other religious holidays. Each night of Kwanzaa black, red, and green candles are lighted in a seven-armed candleholder.

The candles represent Nguzo Saba, the seven principles of day-to-day living, which underlie Kwanzaa. Beginning on December 25 a different principle is honored each night: Unity (umoja in Swahili); self-determination (kujichagulia); collective work and responsibility (ujima); cooperative economics (ujamaa); purpose (nia); creativity (kuumba); and faith (imani). Colorful local festivals held during the week of Kwanzaa commemorate African culture and cooking, with the stress on active participation in craft workshops and frequent discussions of the meaning of Kwanzaa.

About Origami Techniques To help you make sense of the lines and arrows on the drawings, you should study the explanations of a few basic techniques. It will be well worth a few minutes to learn to recognize the "Four Important Symbols" and "Three Procedures," which are international standards for origami. FOUR IMPORTANT SYMBOLS Learn to recognize these four simple clues, which are often overlooked by beginners. 1. 1.

Valley Fold Fold the square in half by bringing one edge of the paper toward you and matching it to the opposite edge. A valley fold is always shown by a line of dashes. You have made a valley fold. With this one simple fold, you have made a greeting card. 2. Mountain Fold Fold the square in half by guiding one edge of the paper to the back and matching it to the opposite edge.

A mountain fold is shown by a dash-dot-dash line and an arrow. "You have made a mountain fold. With this one simple fold you have made a tent. 3. Arrows Make a valley fold. Make a mountain fold. Curly arrowTurn the paper over. 4. 4.

Existing Crease An existing crease, made previously, is shown by a thin line that does not touch the edges. Existing crease

THREE PROCEDURES In these three procedures, which occur frequently in paperfolding, several steps are combined into one standard process. 1. Inside Reverse Fold One of the most common procedures is called an inside reverse fold. 1. 2. 2.

Place the paper exactly as shown. Fold the top corner over to the right, so that it peeks over the open edge. 3a. Let the paper open up and push the corner in between the two layers of paper, on the creases you made in Step 2. 3b. 4.