Make an Indian Christmas star

Introduction

Large paper 3D stars are a popular decoration in India, particularly for the Hindu festival of Divali, the festival of lights. Between mid-October and mid-November, houses and streets are aglow with earthen lamps and coloured lights on verandahs, rooftops, walls and windowsills. Children wear new clothes for the festival and families gather to let off fireworks.

As this is also close to the time of year when Christians begin their Advent and Christmas preparations, they too hang up colourful stars to remind them of the starlight that led the wise men from the east to Jesus, who later described himself as ‘the light of the world’. Christians are called to shine as lights in the darkness and these stars are one way in which the Christian minority in India can witness to their faith among their neighbours.

Preparation

For this craft idea, you will need:

• card
• scissors
• hole punch
• glue, double-sided tape or a stapler
• decorations
• thread or ribbon

Development

1. You can use this template to make one of these Indian stars.
2. Photocopy the template on to card. You will need five cards to make one star.
3. Cut out each shape, adding some decoration. With a hole punch, create a number of holes in each ‘arm’ of the star to let the light through.
4. Fold along every dotted line and draw the sides together to make each section. For this, use glue, double-sided tape or a stapler.
5. Finally, join together the five sections. This can be fiddly and it is best to work with a group or a partner.
6. Hang the stars up as a reminder of how Christians in India will be celebrating the festival of Christmas.