Lithuanian Straw Christmas Ornaments

Today I am celebrating the Lithuanian tradition of creating handmade ornaments made of straw. This handicraft is often taught in Lithuanian communities around the United States, and the practice is still passed down in families throughout Lithuania. On the Balzekas Museum of Lithuanian Culture website you must see their beautiful Christmas tree filled with these ornaments (located at O'Hare International Airport). The museum hosts a workshop every year.

If your family does not carry on this tradition and you would like to know how to create your own straw ornaments, see the instructions located on the Neris.mii.lt website: (Go to "Lithuanian Home Page", an article about LT Christmas traditions).

Here are images from the site that illustrate the process of creating triangular shapes, the basic foundation of the ornaments:

Putting together the shapes to create lanterns, stars and other patterns they can finish simple or complex.

Here are other online sources on straw ornaments:
http://www.lithaz.org/arts/xmas.html
http://easteuropeanfood.about.com/od/christmaseve/ig/Lithuanian-Chr...

Special thanks to neris.mii.lt website for use of the instructional images