December 19, 2008
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The Moravian Star
Originating in the Moravian boarding schools in Germany
in the nineteenth century as an exercise in geometry.
The stars were carried throughout the world by missionaries
and other church workers, the star proclaims the hope of Advent.
While we are most familiar with the white star,
the first star had alternating red and white points.
Whatever its form, the star reminds us of God,
who caused the light to shine out of darkness
and of the light which is the life of humanity.
We are reminded of the star that pointed to the
"great and heavenly light from Bethlehem's manger shining bright."
The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
This is the message of the Advent star, which also points to Jesus,
who said, "I am the bright and Morning Star."
It is the star of promise, the star of fulfillment, and the star of hope.
I love that broom!
Comments (69)
What would Jesus do?
I know what he'd do, he'd be out in the barn because there's no room in the house.
nice photo
at least theres no snow in this pic,,, now,,, that last post was downright scary,,,,
now youve reminded me,,, i need to get on the stick,,, karla wants a christmas tree,,, i guess i better comply,,, idont think shes ever had one....
Awesome pic!
A star,a star, forgot the rest of the song.
Isn't it awesome how a small light like that can light up an area? A light to light the darkness just like what Christ was sent to us for. It's cool how you captured the illumination of that star, it seems to glow! Have a Merry and Bless Christmas Beth.
~Grampy~
as always... so beautiful your photos!
Very Nice!
very nice
merry christmas, beth !
It's nice to see the Moravian Star. I've been a member of the Central Moravian Church in Bethlehem and have seen that star all my life. Nice photo. Thanks.
beautiful. i love the light in the darkness symbolism!
your photos are always so beautiful! you certainly have a gift for that sort of thing. thanks again for being willing to share it with us...
Ooo... I want to take beautiful night shots like that.
I love stars.
I'm still only getting a portion of your pictures. Maybe it is my computer's problem -- not yours. I can still see the star, and it's pretty!
I love the contrast of the lovely old farm house~ with the bright electrical star. What's the story behind the star?
Beautiful Beth~ Tamy
I love this picture and was just discussing Moravian customs and thoughts with my husband. I have a cookbook I am going to use for a number of gifts around our home this year.
Love the picture
Love that picture. If only we would all remember what the star means for the rest of the year not just one month. Sounds as if your poinsettia (sp?) was a great success. Would loved to have been around there for it. Will have to consider doing a special trip one of these years.
A Merry Blessed Christmas to you and yours and looking forward to a Happy New Year. Hugs
Awww.. that's so beautiful and precious.
A star, a star! Dancing in the night
With a tail as big as a kite (you want me to say that again? OK)
With a tail as big as a kite!
captured at the right moment!
Great!! Is your greenhouse open the week before Christmas?
nice
With that star to lead you you are on the good way , Beth !
Have a merry Christmas
Love
Michel
This is an awesome, informative post Beth. Thanks for sharing this.
You can make the trip to Bethlehem. They have a huge star, and it's close for you.
Thanks.
Merry Christmas.
I love the moravian star, we had one for years, which I hung over my village, but it got broken and we moved and the village is in a different setting. We have a Moravian village in Winston Salem NC, which is a lovely place to visit and experience the many old traditions.
beautiful photo and it's a good knowledge to learn about this meaningful star
Beautiful photos and beautiful star of Bethlehem!
Gorgeous.
Fantastic pictures, as always, Beth!
Kathi
That is beautiful! Thanks!
pretty.
I only see partial pictures too. But I can see the whole thing in my subscription page. YAY. Those are really pretty pics. As usual. I like the star!
your house looks so festive and cheerful-even the dog!
(I love that little broom!)
I love all the pictures, and especially... yeah, ya gotta love brooms. Too bad they don't have any Christmas minis.
Love that porch ~ broom and all ~
Gorgeous, gorgeous!
Those are beautiful pictures, as always. I love that dog, reminds me of one we had a long time ago. There are a lot of stars that are used in this time of the year. My parents would put a star on top of the tree. I used to love looking at it. Thanks for bringing back memories to me.
P.S. I can see your post just fine in my subs. page. It is here on your own page that the margins of the content are a bit crowded.
@grandpawstoltz - Yes ,we are open till Christmas Eve.
Nice pictures,Beth. They make us want to come back to the Oley Valley.
@CarmenDeBizet - Is it better now,I rewored the Theme?
@seedsower - I can see a change, but the pictures are still cut off at a certain point.
@CarmenDeBizet - Back to the drawing board!
@CarmenDeBizet - Still?
@seedsower - I'm afraid the modules are still cramped. Perhaps its on my monitor. Sigh. This has happened in my blog, too. It's rather annoying at some point.
@CarmenDeBizet - Thank you for your time!
@seedsower - No problem. *salutes*
Beautiful! Merry Christmas to you and yours, Beth!
Thanks for sharing the lovely pictures! They're just beautiful!
Very nice pictures!!!!
I love that star.
Heather
I'm enjoying your additions, a little at a time!
And more christmas card perfect pictures. Love them.
I wonder how it is to spend Christmas with you, in your house, Beth.
@bella_esperanza@revelife - Not too fun,I am to tired from the greenhouse to do to much,bare minimal!
@seedsower - I'd still wanna be with you, learn some stuff.
@bella_esperanza@revelife - You are most welcome anytime Addy! <3
We have put up a Moravian star every Christmas for almost 30 years. I love them! We wore out two paper ones before my sister from North Carolina got me a plastic one. I guess it would be best to make it from scratch like you are supposed to do, but I've never attempted that. Beautiful pictures!!
How beautiful!!! And it is funny that you mentioned the broom...that was the first thing I noticed in the picture....lol. And I love the collie...reminds me of Princess...our wonderful collie that we had years ago...arent they fantastic pets??
Have a Joy-filled Christmas!!!
Ruth Ann
Thank you for this blog entry I'm going out to buy a star for my sun room.
Great post! Love the pics! They are beautiful!
You are surrounded by beauty.and have the eye to recogmize and share it. Thank you
And anyone who has tried to put one of those stars together knows that it's a serious exercise in geometry! Great pics, and thanks for including the story.
Hey, seedsower;
Lovely Pictures. I, too, like the broom; a Real broom. Far up. I like collie.
The Moravian Star is beautiful. So are you. Happy Holidays to you and yours.
grey of saltypepper
that stars from Bethlehem!!! Christmas City USA u should see it up here its NUTS!