Did you ever know?

“ORIGAMI HAS BEEN USED FOR ODIFFERENT PURPOSES?”

Origami, coined from the Japanese words ori and gami  meaning “to fold” and “paper”, is an art of paper folding. Popular not only in Japan but also around the world, origami has served various purposes from past to present time.

Origami is used in religious ceremonies, cultural events, education, and as leisure activities. In the past, origami was practiced to make decorations for religious ceremonies at shrines. Nobles would attach a piece of origami to their swords to bring them luck in battles. Samurai warriors exchanged gifts adorned with good-luck tokens of origami figures. They celebrated weddings with glasses of sake or rice wine wrapped in male and female paper butterflies representing the bride and groom. Tea ceremony masters received their diplomas specially folded to prevent misuse in case the documents should fall into the wrong hands because once the paper was opened, it could not be resealed without allowing extra creases to show. Nowadays, origami is tought at elementary school to teach concepts of geometry and mathematical skill. It also instills patience and generates creativity in children. However, it is not only kids that enjoy folding origami figures of animals, flowers, and trees as a pastime, but adults also love using origami to make usable items such as cups, boxes, and hats, and to decorate houses such as lamp shades.

Adapted from web-japan.org and www.origami.as