Holiday Video Greeting

The Moravian Star: Our Symbol of Light, Joy, and Promise

The Moravian star is the Moravian community's symbol of light, joy, and promise for the future. Also known as the Advent Star or Herrnhuter Stern, the Moravian star has a unique geometric design. It typically consists of 26 points, and its structure is based on a polyhedron.

The Moravian star's history can be traced back to 1850 when a teacher named Peter Verbeek at a Moravian school in Niesky, Germany developed a paper-folding technique to create the star as a geometry lesson for his students. The star was later adopted as a symbol of Advent and Christmas by the Moravian Church, representing light shining out of darkness. 

These stars can be found in various sizes and materials, including paper, plastic, and metal, and are often illuminated for festive displays. The photograph, provided by the Moravian University Archives, was taken by Donald E. Hunt in 1955 and shows a student making Moravian stars in his dorm room.

Build a Moravian Star

Materials Needed

• Ruler or straight edge
• Scissors or other cutting instrument (rotary cutter,  craft knife, paper cutter, etc.)
• Four strips of paper 3/4-inch wide and 16–20 inches long (will make a 3 1/2-inch star)
• Twine and hole punch for hanging (optional)

Step-by-Step Tutorial

Setup

1. Begin by cutting four strips of paper of equal width and length. It is very important that the width of the strips are equal or you may encounter issues when weaving the points of the star.
2. Fold the strips in half and cut off the corners to make points at the ends of each strip. This points do not have to match or be precise; they help when weaving the paper.

Weave the Center

3. Lay down the first strip of paper with the pointed edge facing north. 
4. Lay down the second strip so its pointed edge faces east and slide it around the folded edge of the first strip.

5. Lay the third strip down pointed south. Slide it around both ends of the second strip.
6. Take the fourth strip, point facing west, and slide it around both ends of the third strip. Weave it around the bottom layer of the first strip.

7. Pull all sides so the strips form a tight square.
8. To lock the center, fold down the top layer of the top-left strip. Crease it, then rotate your star clockwise 1/4 turn. Again, fold down the top layer of the top-left strip, crease, and rotate your star 1/4 turn. Fold and rotate for a third time.

9. For the last strip, instead of folding it down, weave it through the flap atop the lower-left square and pull through.
10. If done correctly, the front and back of the square should look exactly the same and all strips should be woven and locked.

Fold the Outer Points

11. The Moravian star has eight outer points. Starting with the top-right strip, fold the strip back and to the right, so it is parallel with the other strips.
12. Fold this same strip in and down so it is vertical and forms a triangle at the top.

13. Fold the triangle in half over itself, forming the first point at the top.
14. Take the strip and weave it through the top-right square of the star's center and pull through. This will lock your first point. Rotate your star clockwise 1/4 turn.

15. Repeat on the remaining three strips, rotating clockwise 1/4 turn until you have four outer points.
16. Flip the star over and repeat on the other side to create all eight outer points.

Fold the Crown

17. To create the puffed crown points on each side of the star, start in the upper-right corner. Fold your top-right, horizontal strip to the left and crease it.
18. Take the bottom-right strip. With your thumb on top, motion the strip toward you and fold to the left—keeping your thumb on top (do not turn your hand over). Feed the pointed end into the top-left square of the star's center. Pull the strip through to create the first crown point.

19. Rotate the star clockwise 1/4 turn and repeat until you have created four crown points.
20. Flip the star over and repeat on the remaining side until you have created all eight crown points.

Last Steps

21. Cut off the excess paper from each outer point of your star. 

22. Use a hole punch to create a hole or find an open seam and string with twine or string to hang.