The Moravian Historical Society in the Morning Call Newspaper, 1984 to today

---

<< Back to Archives Home

MORAVIAN CHRISTMAS IT'S NOT TOO LATE TO VISIT MUSEUM

Morning Call - Allentown, Pa. Author: BRYAN HAY, The Morning Call

Copyright Morning Call Dec 26, 1996

If you can't find the time during this busy season to gaze at every Moravian star, putz and beeswax candle in the Lehigh Valley, drop by the Moravian Historical Society headquarters in Nazareth and see it all in one convenient stop.

"Light Divine," the self-guided holiday exhibit on the first floor of the 1740 Whitefield House, 214 E. Center St., provides an up-close glimpse at Moravian Christmas customs and seasonal artifacts from the museum's vast collection.

From a cluster of the ever-popular Advent stars to antique putz figurines, museum guests can almost smell the yeasty sugar cake and coffee as they stroll through individual rooms, each one dedicated to a certain aspect of a Moravian Christmas.

Visitors first encounter a room swirling with a constellation of Moravian stars on loan from the Moravian Book Shop in Bethlehem.

Not as ancient and mystical as some might think, the Moravian star actually originated as a geometry exercise in 1850 at a Moravian school in Niesky, Germany, and a student later began to make and sell them.

A factory still produces them in Herrnhut, Germany, says Susan Dreydoppel, the society's executive director.

Dangling from the ceiling, several multi-pointed stars of glass, plastic and paper cast angular, animated shadows on the whitewashed walls.

Another wall is covered by a blue sponge painting of a traditional Advent star done by Moravian College students Liz Nicholas, a museum intern, and Jessica Rittenhouse.

And a star that was carried to Alaska in the 1930s by a Moravian missionary is also on display, its paper points and glass chimney still in good shape despite being exposed to a hostile climate.

"It's constructed of paper, but obviously a paper that's not made anymore," says Dreydoppel.

A 19th-century German illumination immediately grabs the attention in the adjoining room, three colorful panels depicting the Nativity on painted, backlighted paper.

The center panel was recently returned after being restored by the Conservation Center for Art and Historic Artifacts in Philadelphia, adds museum intern Mark Turdo, a senior history major at Moravian College.

Carefully matted on Japanese paper, the panel was soaked in a chemical solution to de-acidify the paper and retard its deterioration, he explains. It was a much needed repair; cellophane tape had held the fragile artwork together for years, Turdo notes.

The outer panels will be treated early next year.

Nearby, the common white electric window candle serves as simple reminder of Bethlehem's emergence as the Christmas City, Dreydoppel points out.

Moravian College revived the window candle tradition in 1937, when the Bethlehem Area Chamber of Commerce inaugurated its Christmas City campaign. That year, 101 candles were lit in Colonial and Main halls on Church Street.

Moving on, a lovefeast emerges, a simple, non-sacramental meal served in Moravian churches throughout the liturgical year. Trays of lovefeast buns, an old copper boiler used to keep coffee warm at Schoeneck Moravian Church and beeswax candle molds illustrate the scene.

Copies of "Morning Star," the ever-favorite Christmas hymn sung by generations of children, complete the tableau.

Its composer, the Rev. Francis Hagen, lived in Nazareth but wrote the hymn during a year he spent in Winston-Salem, N.C. Nazareth, therefore, cannot claim "Morning Star" as its own, Dreydoppel laments.

"Nazareth would love to claim the tune," she says.

Right around the corner are examples of Moravian culinary delights -- Christmas mint wafers and paper-thin spice cookies mass-produced by hand in Winston-Salem, a Moravian community.

Ginger was a popular spice in colonial America and crates of it were imported to local Moravian communities from the Virgin Islands, Turdo says.

Another quintessentially Moravian custom -- assembling miniature Biblical figures and placing them on a bed of moss -- is captured twice in the exhibit.

Putzes donated to the museum by the Morris and the Kelly families of Bethlehem will forever perpetuate special Christmas gatherings of long ago.

The Morris putz had been a tradition for 150 years until it was donated to the museum two years ago. Some of the wooden figurines were hand-carved in Oberammergau, Germany.

The recently-donated Kelly putz contains plaster figures that used to be sold at the Woolworth's store on Main Street, Bethlehem. Some still carry the original price stickers; one particular shepherd, for example, cost 30 cents.

"I'd like to see more families getting involved in establishing a putz tradition," says Dreydoppel. "Most of the older people who visit think it's wonderful -- they don't understand why it's not as popular as it once was."

For one thing, it takes a great deal of time to arrange a putz and often a substantial investment to purchase the miniature animals, buildings and Biblical figurines.

There's something bittersweet about having family putzes become a museum piece. But by donating them to museums, a valued family tradition carries on instead of being lost and forgotten in an attic, Dreydoppel says.

Ruth Kelly helped the museum staff prepare the putz and provided the accompanying taped message made by family members years ago to illustrate the Christmas story.

"You can see a lifetime of memories here," says Dreydoppel. "We can still see the putz here, but I have to tell people it was originally meant for a family living room."

"Light Divine" will be shown through Jan. 7. Museum hours are 1-4 p.m. daily, including weekends, with additional hours by appointment. Museum admission, which includes the holiday exhibit, is $2 for adults, $1 for children 6-12. Children under 5 and Moravian Historical Society members will be admitted free.

The Morning Call has graciously allowed us access to their electronic archive. The articles are presented here as they appear online.

This article is © copyright The Morning Call Online.