November 11 is recognized globally as World Origami Day, marking the culmination of World Origami Days (October 24 to November 11). Developed in ancient Japan (combining *oru* meaning to fold and *kami* meaning paper), origami evolved from ceremonial Edo-period traditions into a worldwide art and mathematical discipline. In Japan, November 11 is celebrated because the paper crane (*orizuru*) has become an international symbol of peace, immortalized by the true story of Sadako Sasaki, a young girl who folded over a thousand paper cranes while battling leukemia following the Hiroshima bombing. Today, origami principles are utilized by NASA engineers to fold space telescope solar arrays and by bioengineers to design microscopic medical stents.
November 11 is recognized globally as World Origami Day, marking the culmination of World Origami Days (October 24 to November 11). Developed in ancient Japan (combining *oru* meaning to fold and *kami* meaning paper), origami evolved from ceremonial Edo-period traditions into a worldwide art and mathematical discipline. In Japan, November 11 is celebrated because the paper crane (*orizuru*) has become an international symbol of peace, immortalized by the true story of Sadako Sasaki, a young girl who folded over a thousand paper cranes while battling leukemia following the Hiroshima bombing. Today, origami principles are utilized by NASA engineers to fold space telescope solar arrays and by bioengineers to design microscopic medical stents.
