The Scoop SPRING 2019 | Page 34

THE STARS

THAT FILL

THE JAR

Connie Tan Presents

Origami lucky stars are very easy to make!

You might have seen these stars being filled up

in jars as it is a popular tradition in China to do

so. Some stores sell these strips of paper already,

so you don’t need to measure and cut them out.

Otherwise, you can use an 11 inch by a half-an-inch

wide strip of computer printer paper. Construction

paper works too, but ideally, thin papers are better.

Make a knot at one end of the paper.

Flatten the knot gently but don’t crease it too much.

It should form a pentagon shape.

Fold the short-end paper into the “pocket” formed on the knot.

If it’s too long, then tear off a tiny piece.

Now, fold the long end along the edges.

Continue folding while following the edges of the pentagon.

Repeat folding until you reached a flap not too long or too short.

If it is too long, then tear off a tiny piece.

Tuck the flap into the pocket of the pentagon.

Pinch the corners of the star to form the lucky star. And you are done!

This handmade gift is perfect for anyone you love, such as your significant other, friends, and family. By giving it to someone you love, it shows how much you care and love them! If it is not for love, then the lucky stars may be a wish trigger.

In addition, if you make 100 or 1,000 lucky stars, a custom says that you make a wish on it! If you give someone 100 or 1,000 lucky stars, then they can wish on it!

Ever since a Chinese movie in 1890s showed a woman offering a man a blessing with a jar of paper folded stars, the habit of giving 100 or 1,000 stars increased drastically. More so, this custom grew even more popular after 1980!