Excerpted from an article by Bishop A.W. Schattschneider, November 10, 1966

O Star of wonder, Star of night,

Star with royal beauty bright,

Westward leading, still proceeding,

Guide us to thy perfect light.

“We Three Kings of Orient Are”

The many pointed Star which is so familiar to Moravians everywhere is thought of in our tradition as having a two-fold meaning: It is in the first place a prophetic symbol of the advent of our Lord, and is so used during the weeks which precede Christmas Eve. On Christmas Eve, and on the day of our Lord’s birth, the Star takes on added significance, for then it becomes a symbol of our blessed Lord Himself.

The actual origin of the many pointed Moravian Star which symbolizes the truths of which we have been thinking is somewhat obscure. We know that our pilgrim forefathers did not bring it with them when they came to Herrnhut. We know also that, although the hymn, Not Jerusalem, Rather Bethlehem, which the founders of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania sang on the Christmas Eve in which their tiny settlement received its name, contained the prayer: “Show to me the Star, Which my course for far, Guides from pagan ways forsaken,” there was no many pointed star in the humble stable-home in which they were gathered. At least a hundred years were to pass before what we call the Moravian Star was born.

The making of the first Star took place, as nearly as we can tell, in the Moravian School at Niesky, Germany, about 1850. Some unknown instructor worked out the details and put the first star together. Was he, perhaps, an instructor of geometry? No one knows. We do know, however, that the making of stars was soon a part of the handcraft program of the School. So it continued until about 1880 when Peter Verbeek, who had attended the School as a boy, began making the stars for sale, employing several young folks to assist him. In course of time Peter’s son Harry learned the art from his father and set up a shop in Herrnhut for the making of stars. The Verbeeks also operated the bookstore in the Herrnhut community and thus had an outlet for their product. Soon orders for Moravian Stars began coming in from many areas - at one time it was necessary for the Verbeeks to print the instructions for assembling the stars in four languages! The points of the earliest stars were fastened to a central core made of metal; in time the father and son conceived of the idea of providing every point with lips, so that the lips could be overlapped and fastened with paper fasteners.

In the Herrnhut community the making of stars continued in this way until World War I forced the closing of the workshop. Because American Moravians still wanted Christmas Stars, a group of Moravians in Winston-Salem, North Carolina took up the task of producing the stars for the many persons for whom this beloved emblem has such deep significance. When the American writer Winifred Kirkland wrote her charming account of a Christmas visit to Winston-Salem in 1923, she included in the little volume a picture of “The Star-Maker’s House.”

Surely it is significant that, a quarter of a century ago, citizens of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania erected on the top of South Mountain an electric star with almost 300 bulbs towering a hundred feet into the air and visible for twenty miles. Every evening throughout the season of the Saviour’s birth this great star shines over the city to remind everyone of the Star which once, long ago, shone over the first Bethlehem in the land of Judah.

ADDENDA

Albert H. Frank, 10/27/99

The Herrnhut Star Factory is again operating and makes many different sizes and colors of the basic twenty-six point star which began some 20 miles away at Niesky. While not a large business, in terms of the number of employees, the factory produces thousands a year and remains the major producer of the paper stars. Several models are also produced in plastic and sizes range from tree-top to a three foot model suitable for hanging outside the home or in a window.

Additional star makers manufacture and market their creations in and near Winston-Salem, North Carolina.