Froebel star - a paper ornament

The origins of the Froebel star

The Froebel star (sometimes referred to as Moravian star) is a paper craft that most likely originated in Scandinavia where it was already widely practised in the 18th century - for example in Denmark these stars are known as 'Julestjerne'. But there is more to their history and the reason why they are commonly known as Froebel stars or Moravian stars.

Why is it called Froebel or Moravian star?

Friedrich Froebel was a German pedagogue who invented the concept of the kindergarten in 1837 (thereby also coining the term 'kindergarten'). Froebel was a forerunner of Rudolf Steiner and Maria Montessori in his belief that education needed to be holistic, taking into account the 'whole child' whose spiritual, physical, emotional, mental and academic development all have equal importance. He was influenced by his own upbringing in the Moravian church, which uses traditional paper stars at Christmas to symbolise the Star of Bethlehem.

Because Froebel believed that playing and learning were closely linked, he developed a number of tools to aid children in their learning: Froebel's Gifts and Occupations are beautiful wooden educational toys for children that are still popular today. One of these tools however was the folded paper star, which he used to help children to understand the basic concepts of geometry.

A true 'Moravian star' as is used in the Moravian church is based on a sphere from which 26 points emerge. It is not the same as a Froebel star, but because of Froebel's Moravian connection is sometimes referred to as such.

How to make a Froebel star

I first came across one of these in a Danish interiors store in London and I immediately wanted to learn how to make them. It looks complicated at first, but once you get going, it's utterly addictive! 

Your paper strips need to be 30 times longer than they are wide. As always, I love brown kraft paper for its versatility, and its look - its plainness allows the shape itself to shine, but in this case also because a roll of kraft paper has a good length and you can cut wide strips to make quite large stars.

To make a more durable ornament, you can dip the finished star into melted wax and let it set - that way you can enjoy these stars year after year.