5 Pennsylvania Holiday Traditions to Celebrate This Christmas

While many Pennsylvania families decorate their homes with traditional Christmas stars, some choose to decorate with a Moravian star instead. The Moravian Church has a long history in Pennsylvania (going back to 18th-century German settlers), but the star is a little more recent.

The first Moravian star originated in the 1830s at the Moravian Boys’ School in Niesky, Germany, likely a geometry lesson or project. The Moravian Church adopted the star as an Advent symbol, which continues to have significance in the Moravian-founded communities of Bethlehem and Nazareth.

Moravian stars typically have 25 or 26 points and are hung in windows or above porches. The Central Moravian Church in Bethlehem has a 6-foot star for the bell tower, a gift from the Moravian Star Factory in Herrnhut, Germany. Some stars can even have up to 100 points.

We have all seen one of these setups, as a miniature village is one of the most iconic Christmas displays of the holiday season. Christmas villages, like many Pennsylvania holiday traditions, came from the Moravian church and early Moravian settlements. These miniature decorations began with a traditional nativity scene, but have become more elaborate arrangements.

A Christmas village is also called a putz, from the German verb putzen, which means “to clean” or “to decorate.” Christmas villages became popular after World War II, especially porcelain and ceramic villages. While this tradition has become more popular across the U.S., gathering around to build a Christmas village will always be a special occasion in Pennsylvania.

A unique trait among Pennsylvanians is that we look forward to Second Christmas. Second Christmas is a custom, German in origin, which takes place the day after Christmas, December 26. While many holiday traditions originate from religious practices, Second Christmas is secular. The first documented mention of Second Christmas was on Dec. 27, 1808. The custom was mentioned in “Volksfreund,” a German-language publication in Lancaster, PA. Many Amish still celebrate Second Christmas today, as do other Pennsylvania families.