Hello readers! I'm a bit of an origami fan (in fact sometimes I help others find out how to do origami) - I got started when I was really, really young and am still going! Right now I'm working on the '1000 Paper Cranes' project in honour of Sadako, a little Japanese girl who got leukaemia because of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima in World War II. Here's some more information on the thousand paper cranes Japanese legend:

Thousand Origami Cranes (Senbazuru or Zenbazuru in Japanese) is a group of one thousand origami paper cranes held together by strings.

An ancient Japanese legend promises that anyone who folds a thousand origami cranes will be granted a wish by a crane, such as long life or recovery from illness or injury. The crane in Japan is one of the mystical or holy beasts (others include the dragon and tortoise), and is said to live for a thousand years. In Asia, it is commonly said that folding 1000 paper origami cranes makes a person's wish come true. This makes them popular gifts for special friends and family.

A thousand paper cranes is also traditionally given as a wedding gift by the folder, who is wishing a thousand years of happiness and prosperity upon the couple. It can also be gifted to a new baby for long life and good luck. Hanging a Senbazuru in one's home is thought to be a powerfully lucky and benevolent charm. It is also used as a matchmaking charm for a Japanese girl when she turns 13 years old. She would make 1000 paper cranes and give it to an admired boy.

Credit to the various editors of Wikipedia. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thousand_origami_cranes. Licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License (as it is not possible to provide a local version of the GFDL here, please see this link for the complete license). Sorry for this legalese, readers, but it's necessary to make sure I can use the above text legally!