Over the little town of Hope, Bartholomew County, every Christmas a star appears. But unlike the ancient star, the one in Hope is plastic. Actually, there is more than one--hanging from Moravian porches or in windows. They are hung on the first Sunday of Advent, and remain through the twelve days of Christmas until Epiphany (January 6). Although Puritans in the northern colonies had outlawed Christmas celebrations, settlers in the Bethlehem, PA area, in the mid-1700s celebrated the birth of Christ with the Christmas customs they had brought from the old country. The Moravians are said to have been the first in this country to use a Christmas tree.

The illuminated Moravian star with its 26 points symbolizes the birth of Christ, pointing to the wise men who followed the star to Bethlehem. It is to remind of the Old Testament prophecy: "There shall come a star out of Jacob," (Numbers 24:17) and of the fulfillment of that prophecy in the coming of Christ who said, "I am the bright star of dawn" (Revelations 22:16).

The first Moravian stars were made about 1850 by a teacher in the Moravian school at Niesky, Germany. It soon spread beyond the classroom and in 1880 Peter Verbeck began making stars for sale in the Moravian bookstore in Herrnhut. Before long he was exporting to England and America. In Hope they used to get the stars, then made from parchment, from Germany. When the war made it impossible to order stars, they began manufacturing them and soon they were shipped to Moravian communities around the U.S. Other church groups in the U.S. and Canada also began making stars, and recently commercial firms have entered the field. Parchment paper was replaced by plastic and the original tiny whale oil lamps where replaced first by candles and then by electric bulbs.

Moravian "putz" (German for decoration) is more than a nativity scene with adoring shepherds. For decorations are highly personal and not confined by time or geography. It tells the story of Jesus' birth with a manger scene as the focal point; it is the gospel in miniature from Isaiah's prophecy and Mary's annunciation to the visit of the wisemen and the flight into Egypt. The essence of the putz tradition is found in the way in which each putz is built to tell the Christmas story. The joy comes in collecting and creating the story. Figures and many other items, pine cones, pieces of drift wood, stones, houses and animals, are collected over the years by the whole family and may include a replica of their home. Moravian parents will use the putz as a visual aid to review the Christmas story with the children, to see and hear the age-old story.

A high point is the Christmas vigil of the Moravian Church. In that service, burning candles are distributed to the worshipers as they sing praise to their Savior who came to be the Light of the World. The origin dates back to 1747 in Germany when Bishop John deWatterville introduced it during a service for children. He gave each child a burning candle wrapped with a colored band to help them remember Christ's birth, passion and wounds. This custom is still practiced today in all Moravian churches. The candles are made of bees' wax as it represents the sinless purity of Christ's flesh. The paper frill has been added to catch the drippings.

Ruth Reichmann

From the IGHS Newsletter Winter 1999/2000

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