Every winter, my Grandpa Jensen would sit down with us grandkids and make Danish heart baskets out of red and white wrapping paper. We started with three straight pieces to weave and then got fancy, weaving more intricate patterns, while Grandpa would tell us about the nuts, raisins, and candy that would fill the baskets.
Tradition was that parents put up and decorated the tree in a room with a door that stayed locked until after the Christmas Eve noon feast. Then, the doors would swing open on a candlelit tree in the center of the room for all the children to enjoy. Our family would join hands and sing and dance around the tree. After we sang all the songs, the children could take a heart basket off the tree and gobble up the goodies. Other treats and festivities were had, and the children ended their night full of food and love.
This is not my story; it is the story of my grandmother. Her mother grew up in Denmark, and some of the Danish traditions my great-grandmother cherished are still practiced in my family today. We eat ebelskivers (small, spherical pancakes) at family events. We sing songs and hymns around our glowing Christmas tree. And we still weave Danish heart baskets every Christmas. These baskets have a rich history of celebration and love.
Danish heart baskets were originally green and yellow, meant as a craft for children to help them develop fine motor skills. Now, the baskets are traditionally a bright red and clean white. Today, most Danish tree decorations are still homemade, usually paper, and not necessarily saved from year to year. Ornament crafting is still an annual event for many Danish families. Families still have trees hung with heart baskets filled to the brim with nuts, dried fruits, and candy, which are eaten over the few days of the holiday.
The spirit of familial crafting helps bring in a feeling of loving hominess, or hygge, as described in Danish culture. Weave these baskets with your family and fill them with goodies, reveling in the familial warmth and love. You are sure to be hooked on having a hygge little Christmas with your loved ones.
Make your own
Step 1
Cut out template along outer lines (or scan the QR to print more templates to cut).
Step 2
Fold ovals in half so round tips touch. Cut along black lines to make strips for weaving.
Step 3
Weave the paper as shown on the diagram. Strip 3 will be inserted in strip C, around strip B, and through strip A. The order is reversed for strip 2 and repeated for strip 1.
Step 4
Glue handle piece inside the basket. Your Danish heart basket is now complete!
Scan QR code to print more basket templates!
