Advent Star
Moravian Advent Star
The first Christmas decoration to go up in Moravian homes and Churches is the Moravian Advent Star, sometimes called the Herrnhut Star.
This star had its origins in a Moravian boarding school in Niesky, Germany in the 1850’s. It started as a lesson in geometry and became a craft in the school. The children would make their stars in school for decorations there and also take them home to their families. The first stars were white and red, white for purity and red for the blood of Jesus Christ.
It was first manufactured in 1897 by Pieter Verbeeck who had attended the school in Niesky. He had a paper and music store in Herrnhut and began to make the stars for sale from his home and his son, Harry founded the Herrnhut star factory in 1925. The way the stars were made, of individual cones with square and triangular bases, meant that they were easy to pack and post. This meant that the tradition of the Moravian Advent Stars spread to Moravian Churches across the world. These stars are now also a common sight in Christmas markets across Germany and many folk not connected with the Church also hang the Moravian stars up in their homes as an integral part of their Christmas decorations.
The star, symbolising the star that led the Wise Men to Jesus is usually put up on Advent Sunday, and taken down on 6th January, Epiphany, the date when traditionally we celebrate the Wise Men getting to Bethlehem. In some Churches in Germany the Advent Star is left up until the 2nd February to mark Candlemas, when Simeon took the infant Jesus in his arms and declared the child to be a light for the revelation to the Gentiles.
The star also reminds us of the God we worship who created the heavens and the glory of the stars in the sky.
Moravian stars can be ordered from our Church Office on 02088833409 or by emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
The website of the Moravian Star Factory in Herrnhut can be visited using this link
Herrnhuter Sterne (herrnhuter-sterne.de)