Himmeli
Himmeli is an elaborate handicraft made from straw that is a popular Christmas decoration in Finland , Lithuania , Latvia, Sweden and Ukraine .
description
It is a pyramid-shaped mobile made of straws and hanging from the ceiling. These mobiles used to be made in autumn and even stayed over the dining table well into spring . Sometimes they were also decorated with colored paper . Himmeli is considered to be the most complicated Christmas decorations. A simpler type can be produced when rye straw with ears of corn in a raw potato is plugged. This creates a spherical straw structure.
Word origin
The word "Himmeli" comes from the Swedish word "heaven" which means "heaven". It is a decoration made of straw tied together with thread, which is hung from the roof for Christmas. Himmeli is handcrafted and it takes patience and time. Many decorations are made from straw, such as B. wreaths, goats, stars . The straw symbolizes the Christ child's first bed in the barn in Bethlehem .
In Lithuania this tradition is called "sodai" ( gardens ), in Latvia "puzurs" (pl. Puzuri ). In Ukraine it is known as "павук" [pavuk] ( spider ).
Web links
Santa Claus and Finnish Christmas traditions on finnland.at