Tuesday, November 27, 2007 | by nathan

Moravian Star

To augment our Christmas decorations a bit, and to set us apart from the tacky fun-but-not-very-me two-story high snow globes that are inflating throughout our neighborhood, I just ordered a Moravian Star to hang above our door this holiday season.

Winston-Salem, NC., where I went to college, was originally settled by Moravians, a German group of Christians with some very neat holiday traditions, including the Moravian Love Feast, which I’m attending at Wake Forest this Sunday night.

The stars are especially beautiful, and in North Carolina you know it’s the holidays when you start seeing them hanging above people’s front doors. The history and meaning of the star is especially interesting:

Although the Star originated in the church’s schools as a geometry lesson, it was soon adopted throughout the Moravian Church as a beloved Advent symbol. At the time, Moravian Congregations were inhabited exclusively by Moravians and the church owned and controlled all property. All of life was formed by their Christian faith and there was no distinction between secular and sacred even in their daily activities. All of life was considered worship. So it was that the Advent Star went effortlessly from a pastime for boys into the Congregation. Properly called the "Advent Star" the Moravian Star remains a beloved symbol of the Advent-Christmas-Epiphany holiday season. They are often seen in Moravian nativity and putz displays as a representation of the Star of Bethlehem. (via Wikipedia)

I briefly considered buying one in Winston-Salem while we’re there, but decided I’d rather not lug a giant, fragile Christmas decoration home on a plane. So I did a quick internet search and found the one above, which I actually ordered from Target online. The exterior lights on our house this year are going to be blue, and on our front-porch Christmas tree we’re doing blue and white C-9s, so I ordered the blue one. Photos of its warm holiday glow will be forthcoming once it’s up and lit.