Twinkle Twinkle and Scandi hearts

Last week I stumbled across this video of a young pianist playing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star with different, increasing levels of virtuosity. It's a lovely way to spend a few minutes, watching a young man creatively and enthusiastically turn this simple nursery rhyme into something worthy of Mozart or Chopin, topped by a resoundingly over the top virtuoso performance. It's also a reminder that there's nothing so simple - not even a nursery rhyme - that it cannot be lovingly embellished; and nothing so richly ornate and intricate that it can't have its origins in utter simplicity. 

A couple of days later I received a lovely surprise in the post - this card, with these two hand-crocheted hearts within it. A friend with strong Danish roots had read my blogpost about our Christmas tree, on which I'd hung a heart, and she'd thought about just how much hearts feature in Scandinavian life - especially at Christmas. And thus, two authentically Scandi hearts now hang from our Christmas tree!

Intrigued, I took to Google, where I discovered woven Christmas hearts are indeed a strong Danish tradition. I also learned that the oldest example still in existence was one made by Hans Christian Andersen in the 1860s, now preserved in the museum dedicated to him. There's something rather sweet about the idea of the man who brought us The Emperor's New Clothes, as well as such bitter-sweet stories as The Nightingale, The Snow Queen and The Ugly Duckling, sitting at his desk folding and weaving paper hearts, as tokens of his affection. 

I also found some instructions for woven paper hearts with varying degrees of simplicity and complexity. At the end came this warning: Don't show the fancy ones to children who have never tried to make a simple one. It may ruin the whole idea of Christmas and peace on earth. Nothing is worse than a frustrated child, who wants to make a complicated heart, and thereby misses the joy and beauty of the simple ones. 

Yes indeed! As Twinkle Twinkle shows us, there is nothing so simple that it can't be adorned and made more complex... but first we need to master the basics... wherein we can always find plenty of joy and beauty.

Once our tree comes down at Candlemas I will find somewhere special to keep these Scandi hearts. After all, as my friend reminded me, for a Sacred Heart sister, hearts aren't just for Christmas - they're for life! In fact, for this Sacred Heart, hearts - plain or fancy, Scandi or from somewhere else - can be a source of joy and beauty at any time - especially when they've been made and given with love.


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