Why Danish Paper Hearts Mean More Than Christmas

When people outside Denmark see our woven paper hearts, they often see something slightly different from what we Danes see.

For us, flettede julehjerter belong naturally to Christmas. We hang them on the tree, make them with our children and carefully unpack old favourites year after year.

But show the same little heart to someone from another part of the world and they may see something else first: love.

What does a paper heart mean?

A handmade heart can mean love, friendship, care or simply that someone took the time to make something for another person.

The Danish woven heart carries all of this, while at the same time belonging to a very particular part of our culture: Christmas.

I first noticed the difference in New York

Years ago, when I presented Ugly Duckli’s handcrafted paper hearts at the International Gift Show in New York, I discovered just how differently people can look at the same little object.

American buyers were genuinely surprised when I explained that our woven hearts were connected to Christmas.

“Why are these hearts connected to Christmas?”

To them, hearts meant romance, weddings, anniversaries and proposals.

I loved that. They were looking at something deeply familiar to me and seeing another meaning in it. The Danish paper heart belonged completely to our Christmas tradition, but the heart itself spoke a language that travelled very easily.

For us, it is still very much Christmas

In Denmark, woven paper hearts are part of the rhythm of Christmas. The little basket inside can even be filled with sweets before the heart is hung on the tree.

Children learn to weave them. Families sit around a table making them together. Some hearts are wonderfully simple. Others become astonishingly complicated.

And often the heart itself survives for years. It comes out of the Christmas box again and again, carrying with it the memory of who made it and when.

When we weave hearts, we weave ourselves into each other’s lives.

That is what I find most beautiful about the tradition. We may remember the heart, but very often what we really remember is the person sitting across the table while we made it.

Then I got to see it through Gregg Wallace’s eyes

When Gregg Wallace came to Copenhagen to film for the BBC, I had the pleasure of teaching him how to weave his first Danish paper heart.

Teaching Gregg Wallace how to weave a Danish paper heart during filming in Copenhagen.

I loved seeing the tradition through his eyes. Something so familiar to me suddenly became new again.

That is often what happens with the little woven heart. It may begin as a Christmas decoration, but very quickly it becomes a conversation, a memory and a connection between people.

So are Danish paper hearts only for Christmas?

In Denmark, the traditional woven paper heart belongs naturally to Christmas. I would not want to take that away from it.

But perhaps it does not have to stop there.

A heart can travel. Love, friendship, family and connection do not belong to one country or one season. Perhaps that is why this very Danish little Christmas decoration makes immediate sense to people who have never seen a Danish Christmas tree.

Would you like to weave one yourself?

You do not have to come to Denmark to begin.

I have made a free illustrated step-by-step guide to weaving a traditional Danish Christmas heart. You are very welcome to download it, print it and sit down with someone you care about to make your own.

There is much more behind the little woven heart

If you would like to know more about Danish Christmas hearts, including their history and their connection to Hans Christian Andersen, I have gathered the story and the tradition in one place.

Or come and weave hearts with me in Copenhagen

If you are in Copenhagen, you can experience the tradition around a table with me.

I offer two different ways to do it. One is a very small private experience for visitors. The other is a group experience that I can bring to companies, organisations and other groups in Copenhagen.

A private Danish experience

For one private group of 1 to 6 guests, I host a two-hour Paper Heart Experience in my own Ugly Duckli universe in Frederiksberg. We weave, talk and explore the story behind one of Denmark’s loveliest Christmas traditions.

See the Private Paper Heart Experience

A Danish Christmas Heart Experience for groups

For companies, organisations and other groups, I can also bring the tradition to you. We weave together while I share the story of the Danish Christmas heart, Hans Christian Andersen and the very Danish pleasure of making something together around a table.

See the Group Paper Heart Experience

A small Danish heart with a rather big story

Perhaps that is what I have learned from taking these hearts outside Denmark.

We Danes may call them Christmas hearts. Someone else may simply see a heart.

And both can be true.