Himmeli
The Finnish straw ornament, himmeli, takes its name Buillding himmeli is an exercise in geometry. Using from the Swedish word for sky or heaven—himmel. strong rye straw and string, a triangle is constructed, Traditionally they were hung above dining tables to then, adding more straw to form additional triangles, ensure a fruitful rye harvest. They were hung at Christ- and eventually a three-dimensional diamond shape. mas and stayed up until Midsummer. Today they are Complex mobiles are formed with these simple shapes. commonly used as Christmas ornaments but can also A well-constructed himmeli will last decades. serve as home decoration all year.
Image by Volker von Bonin, Images from History Collection, The National Board of Antiquities. CC BY 4.0
7 | The Occasional Christmas Dispatch
