November 11th is Origami Day in Japan. To celebrate, we have assembled a sampling of this whimsical and imaginative artistic expression that employs the simple medium of paper.

Origami began as an ancient Japanese craft of folding paper into intricate and delicate art. Today the word “origami” is used as an inclusive term for all folding practices, regardless of their culture of origin.

Please allow yourself to be delighted by the full gallery here.

Visit Oriland, a unique fairy-tale world, made completely from paper without using glue and scissors.

Japanese legend says that the gods will heal those who fold 1,000 paper cranes. The story of Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes is about a girl who did just that. She only managed to fold 644 paper cranes before she became too weak to fold any more. Her family and friends finished the rest for her.

The Folding Freaks are happy to share diagrams, techniques and secrets about the art of creasing and folding lines on a paper to give it life…

Part of what makes origami so beautiful is the dynamic colors and textures. Can you believe these works of art are created only from paper?

The next time you feel like trying something new, start small, and try folding origami.

Please then share your art us by visiting the gallery and joining the groups that celebrate this art every day. Happy Origami Day from all of us at Flickr!