A Herrnhuter Star, One Point at a Time: The 2026 Advent Calendar

Years ago, I had the opportunity to visit the Herrnhuter Star Visitor Centre in Herrnhut, Germany.

The visit included the history of the star, a look at how these remarkable stars are made and, best of all, the opportunity to build a small Herrnhuter Star of my own—the same 13 cm (5 in) size as the star hidden inside this year’s Advent calendar.

The star I chose to make could hardly have been more colourful. Almost every point was a different colour. I sat there fitting the individual points together around the central base until, one point at a time, it became a complete Herrnhuter Star.

My colourful little star is quite different from the elegant star in the 2026 Advent calendar, with its softer combination of white and light turquoise. But the experience of building it gave me an entirely new appreciation for the finished star. What appears so graceful and simple when it is glowing in a window is the result of careful geometry, patient hands and a tradition stretching back more than 200 years.

A Star Born in a Classroom

The story of the Herrnhuter Star begins in the early 19th century in the dormitories of the Moravian Church community in Herrnhut.

The first star was made from paper and cardboard by an educator who used it during mathematics lessons to help students better understand geometry. The children began making their own stars on the first Sunday of Advent and eventually carried the tradition home to their families.

The star also held a deeper meaning. Its many points represented the Star of Bethlehem—a light leading the way through the darkness.

Since 1897, Herrnhuter Stars have been handcrafted at the Herrnhut manufactory. Each traditional star has 25 points and is still assembled according to the same distinctive geometric design.

An Advent Calendar You Build as You Go

The 2026 Herrnhuter Star Advent Calendar tells this story one day—and one star point—at a time.

Behind its 24 numbered doors are all the pieces needed to build an illuminated 13 cm (5 in) Herrnhuter Star in a beautiful combination of light turquoise and white.

The calendar includes:

• 12 turquoise square points
• Eight white triangular points
• Five white square points
• Two star-body halves
• An LED lighting unit
• A USB adapter and power supply
• Liquid glue
• A magnetic hook
• A decorative magnet
• Assembly instructions
• A storage box for the completed star

By Christmas, the individual pieces have come together to create a complete, glowing Herrnhuter Star.

I love this idea. Advent becomes more than opening a little door each morning. You are gradually creating something with your own hands that can become part of your Christmas celebrations for years to come.

Two German Traditions, Working Together

The 2026 calendar is more than a Herrnhuter Star project. It is also a collaboration with HUSS Incense, another traditional company from Germany’s Erzgebirge region.

HUSS has been making its small Weihrichkarzle incense cones since the late 1920s. Made with charcoal, potato starch and natural resins, these little cones release the fragrances so closely associated with a traditional German Christmas.

Behind the calendar doors are 24 HUSS incense cones in 12 different fragrances—two of each scent—including frankincense, palo santo, sandalwood, lavender, thyme, aronia and spruce or pine. There is also a miniature incense-burning stand known as a Karzlfeuerstelle.

I especially enjoy seeing this kind of cooperation among Germany’s traditional handcraft companies. These are businesses with their own distinctive histories, skills and recognizable styles, but they also understand the value of working together to keep their shared craft tradition strong.

Herrnhuter has previously partnered with Wendt & Kühn, and Wendt & Kühn has also collaborated with Inge-Glas. Each company remains unmistakably itself while introducing its work to people who may have first discovered one of the other makers.

This calendar does the same thing beautifully. Herrnhuter brings the light and the experience of building the star. HUSS brings the evocative fragrances of an Erzgebirge Christmas. Together, they create an Advent experience that draws on more than one sense and more than one German handcraft tradition.

Only 15 Made Their Way to Us

The 2026 Herrnhuter Star Advent Calendar is already sold out in Germany, which makes us particularly thrilled to have secured just 15 for Gingerbread World.

It brings together so many things I love: German Christmas traditions, beautiful craftsmanship, the pleasure of making something by hand and a story rooted in a place I have been fortunate enough to visit.

Perhaps that is what I remember most clearly from building my own little star in Herrnhut. A Herrnhuter Star does not simply appear fully formed. It is assembled patiently, point by point, until suddenly the light has somewhere to shine.

And what a lovely way that is to journey through Advent.