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| A Traditional Moravian Evening |
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My sister and niece treated me to a delightful evening of Moravian tradition tonight. The first time I attended the Candle Tea in Old Salem, NC was in the '70's as a young Girl Scout. I went again several years ago, and tonight was my third time participating in this meaningful Christmas tradition. Especially for those of you who live outside NC, this blog is an attempt to share this wonderful experience with you.
The Moravians are a Protestant denomination with roots in 14th century pre-reformation Bohemia and Moravia (present day Czechoslovakia) and revival in 18th century Germany. In 1741, as part of a world-wide evangelism effort, the Moravians established their first successful American settlement in Bethlehem, PA, with a passion for reaching the Native American people. From there, in 1753, some of them migrated to the 100,000-acre tract in North Carolina, that they would name "Wachovia," which included Bethabara, Bethania, and Salem (later a part of Winston-Salem). Although other settlements would be established, Bethlehem became the headquarters of the Moravians' Northern Province and "Wachovia" of the Southern Province.
"Old Salem" is a wonderfully preserved colonial village that has thrived in protecting the history and traditions of the early Moravian settlers. 18th century architecture, crafts, dress, and worship practices are alive and available year round to the public.
The Candle Tea is offered every December as a celebration of both the early Moravian traditions and the birth of Jesus. It is held in the Single Brothers' House in the heart of the village of Old Salem. Following are the pictures I took to share with you:
Owing to its popularity, the wait for entrance into the Candle Tea may be as long as 2 hours. Our wait tonight was much shorter, maybe about 30--45 minutes, and a much milder night temperture-wise than I remember from the past. (Note: The wait is the least favorite part for 10-year-old nieces!)
Groups of about 25 are admitted at one time, to remain together throughout the tour. Guests are initially admitted into a holding room where a Moravian lady in period costume shares some basics of the Moravian tradition. Then we continue into the next room where we are seated on benches to sing Christmas carols (including the traditional Moravian hymn "Morning Star") accompanied by the historic pipe organ.
The next stop is the candle-making demonstration. The Moravians make beeswax candles, which they use in their popular Christmas Eve services and also use to raise money for charity.
We were then led into the kitchen, where we were served Moravian sugar cake and Moravian coffee as we heard about the single brothers' 18th century cooking methods.
Another of the Moravian traditions is the "putz" (rhymes with "foots"), a miniature landscape set up as decoration for Christmas. The Candle Tea includes two putzes. The first is an elaborate, made to scale, model of the entire village of Salem.
The prominent buildings you see in the background are part of Salem Academy, evidence, along with Salem College, of the Moravians' early commitment to the education of women. The largest building in the foreground, facing the Academy buildings, is the Single Brothers' House, where the Candle Tea is held. This putz is much larger and much more detailed than evidenced in this photo. (By this time, 10-year-old nieces are thoroughly engaged and have forgotten about the long wait!)
The second putz is of Jesus' Nativity, which is revealed section by section as the Biblical account of Jesus' birth is orated. It begins in total darkness, with one scene at a time being revealed, culminating in the revealing of the Baby in the manger (with of course a Moravian star overhead)!
As we exited the Single Brothers' House, we were greeted by the cool evening December air, the peaceful Christmas music of a live Moravian brass band, and Moravian cookies. After a visit to the bakery and one of the gift shops, we walked in joy, peace, and serenity back through the centuries to where we had parked. Even my niece (who is a precious light in my life) could have assured those still waiting in line that it would be worth the wait.
61:5 For thou, O God, . . . thou hast given [me] the heritage of those that fear thy name. |
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| To add a comment to "A Traditional Moravian Evening" |
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| December 06, 2008 |
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| Looks like you had a great time and it sure is a once in a life time chance, so am glad you to experience. |
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| December 06, 2008 |
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| Awesome post Kathy! Thanks for sharing a little NC history and some of our Americana Christian heritage with us. Glad you had a fun time. I checked out the link to Old Salem and it looks like a place my family would enjoy...might be a weekend adventure coming! |
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| December 06, 2008 |
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| Awesome Blog! |
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| December 06, 2008 |
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| Kathy, this is awesome, thanks for sharing. My son has toured Bethabara and brought us cookies. While he was there, he was on the phone with me and I was looking at it through the internet......so I had live commentary on an internet tour :) |
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| December 06, 2008 |
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CindyLou, I have toured Bethabara, Bethania, and Old Salem, and they are all wonderfully delightful! I'm glad you got a virtual tour - and cookies! Does your son live in NC?
Thank you, Doyle! I think you love history like I do!
Voice, you would love Old Salem, and NC truly is filled with great vacation attractions. I changed the Old Salem link after I realized I had linked to the merchandising site. You might want to look at the new link.
WSC, it was a great time. Fortunately since I live only an hour away, it will probably not be my last time. It's worth a few returns! |
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| December 06, 2008 |
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| wow how awesome! Thank you kathy, for sharing this with us!!! |
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| December 06, 2008 |
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| Great link Kathy. Thanks! |
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| December 06, 2008 |
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Thanks, Donna! It really was a lot of fun!
Voice, neither of those websites come close to doing justice to the beauty of Old Salem, but I'm glad you saw them both! |
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| December 06, 2008 |
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| So you get to combine doing something special for your birthday with doing something special for Christmas...way cool. I do love the family atmosphere of your life. I know for myself, then my kids, and now my grandkids, aunts and uncles and brothers and sisters have become a special place where past,present and future meet together. The family traditions become those places of familiarity and comfort during the good and bad times. |
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| December 06, 2008 |
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Great post, Kathy! Sounds like you had a wonderful visit. Thanks for sharing your experience with us.
God Bless,
BK |
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| December 06, 2008 |
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| Kathy, no he doesn't live there, the company he works for is based there and he has to go there alot. |
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| December 07, 2008 |
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Dennis, you are so right! And I'm impressed that you pieced together this trip was a birthday gift! The older I get, the more precious my family becomes!
Thank you, Brenda Kay and CindyLou!
Very interesting, Pastor Tim! That story is familiar to me, but I didn't realize it was a Moravian meeting! I appreciate your love for history! |
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| December 11, 2008 |
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| Hi Kathy,
As the holiday approaches and the great feeling of love fills my heart I read your blog. I salute you for the ability to make me a part of your experience, just by reading the events if your visit. I was also enlightened by the information and applaud you for writing so well. Thank you for sharing. I thank God for having a picturisque(maybe misspelled) mind.I wanted to be there. I hope we can meet sometime in the future when i visit my hometown Raleigh.
Pastor Sarah |
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| December 12, 2008 |
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| Pastor Sarah, thank you for your kind and encouraging words. It would be a pleasure to meet you in person! |
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| February 22, 2009 |
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I know this blog was written a few months ago but I just came across it and have to comment.
In the 1940's/'50's I was raised not too many miles from Lititz PA and remember the Moravian Church (dedicated in 1787) there very clearly. There were a few other old buildings on the Church Square there as well.
This blog was especially interesting to me today because just this past week when I was browsing in a secondhand record store I happened across an old 33-1/3 LP vinyl record of the "Second Lititz Festival of Moravian Music" from May 7, 1967. As I read the album jacket with the picture of the familiar church structure on front I spotted the names of three people I knew, and two of them were my mother's cousins! One was the soprano soloist for the recording; the other was a tenor in the Festival Choir. I also had a nodding acquaintance with the organist.
Anyway, the album cover mentions the 18th c Moravian centers of Salem, NC and Bethlehem/Nazareth/Lititz in PA. The historic collection of music performed on the recording is housed in Winston-Salem as well as in Bethlehem.
I moved away from Pennsylvania in 1964 but am wondering if any more Festivals of this two-centuries-old music have been performed since 1967... |
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| February 22, 2009 |
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| Oh! Another comment! The 1967 concert program mentions that Moravian sugarcake and Love Feast coffee were served following the concert. Also, interested persons were invited to visit the congregation museum where instruments from the Single Brothers' House Orchestra were on display. There was also a restored 1793 Tannenberg organ in the parlor. Lititz PA is a very interesting town if any of you are ever visiting in that area sometime. |
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| February 22, 2009 |
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| Christmas is over now but I enjoyed reading your blog about the Moravian traditions. Thanks especially for including pictures. I love seeing photos to go with your tour. It makes me feel more a part of it. |
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| February 22, 2009 |
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| Barb and Joyful, it is never too late to comment on a blog! Thank you for reading and sharing your responses! Joyful, I agree. Pictures can add so much! Barb, I am familiar with Bethlehem and Nazareth but not Lititz. I love your music memories! The 2nd photo above shows a part of the restored Tannenberg organ in the parlor of the Single Brothers' House. It was transported from PA piece by piece via covered wagons. |
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