Moravian Christmas in the SouthMany of the Christmas traditions that we know today did not appear in the United States until well into the nineteenth century. This inviting book explores the Christmas celebrations of the Moravian Church in the South, whose members were marking the holiday as early as the 1780s in ways recognizable to modern Americans. The Moravians' emphasis on a family-centered Christmas grew greatly through the nineteenth century and served as a model for social change in secular America. The Moravian Church was one of the earliest Protestant religious groups in the United States. In 1752 the church bought 100,000 acres in Piedmont North Carolina, calling the tract "Wachovia" because the land reminded them of the Wachau valley of Austria. Christmas customs practiced by the Moravians reflect their Germanic roots, Nancy Smith Thomas explains. This abundantly illustrated volume explores the many facets of traditional Moravian Christmas celebrations, including decorations (such as the idiosyncratic "Putz"), food and beverages, gifts, services, and music. Thomas discusses how these traditions evolved over time, within and outside the Moravian communities, as well as how certain non-Moravian Christmas traditions were incorporated into the Moravian customs. |
Contents
The Christmas Tree and The Pyramid | 19 |
Chapter | 39 |
Chapter | 59 |
Copyright | |
4 other sections not shown
Common terms and phrases
24 December Adelaide Fries American apples Author's collection Bahnson Diary Bethabara Bethania Bethlehem Bible Brethren Candle Tea celebration Cherokee child Christ Christian Christmas cakes Christmas Day Christmas Eve Christmas tree Christoph Vogler cider congregation Daniel Crews decorations early Folder fruit Gambold George Bahnson George F Georgia German gift bringer Gulevich Herrnhut History holiday Home Moravian Church hymn Ibid included January Jesus John John Gambold Kriss lovefeast Moravian Archives Moravian Christmas Moravians in North Museums & Gardens Nicholas nineteenth century North Carolina Old Salem Museums paper Pennsylvania Peter Wolle Peter Wolle Diary Philadelphia popular presents Press Putz pyramid Records Salem College Salem Girls Salem Tavern Santa Claus Shoemaker Single Brothers sisters Snyder Society Southern Springplace Correspondence Springplace Diaries star story sugar Sunday School sweet tion town toys tradition verses vesper Vogler Wachovia Wachovia Moravian William Winston-Salem wreaths wrote York