The city of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, celebrates its Moravian heritage with unique Christmas traditions, including the 'putz', beeswax candles, and the 'lovefeast'.
Like all Moravian traditions, the importance of it is that it brings people together,” said the Rev. Janel Rice, senior pastor of Central Moravian Church — Bethlehem ’s first congregation and the oldest Moravian church in North America. Moravian missionaries named the Pennsylvania city of Bethlehem after the biblical birthplace of Jesus on Christmas Eve in 1741. Nearly 300 years later, Moravians continue celebrating their Christmas season traditions in Bethlehem .
The Moravian settlements in Bethlehem were recently added to the UNESCO World Heritage list as the best preserved of its kind in North America. The holiday is omnipresent in the so-called Christmas City USA — widely known for its lights, ornaments and Nativity scenes. On Christmas Eve in 1741, Moravian settlers named this Pennsylvania city after the biblical birthplace of Jesus. Nearly 300 years later, Moravians continue celebrating their Christmas season traditions in Bethlehem.They include the “putz,” a Nativity scene that tells the story of Christ’s birth with miniature wooden figurines, the making of thousands of beeswax candles by hand as a symbol of the light that Jesus brought to the world and a “lovefeast,” a song service where worshippers share a simple meal of sweet buns and coffee in their pews. “Like all Moravian traditions, the importance of it is that it brings people together,” said the Rev. Janel Rice, senior pastor of Central Moravian Church — Bethlehem’s first congregation and the oldest Moravian church in North America.“Building community, emphasizing that, over doctrine or dogma, is really the Moravian practice and tradition at our core,' she said.Moravians relate to the story of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, Rice said, because their ancestors began as a refugee church fleeing religious persecution. The Nativity is also a poignant reminder today, when the number of people fleeing their homes because of war, violence and persecution continues to rise worldwide
CHRISTMAS TRADITIONS MORAVIAN BETHLEHEM USA
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