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Putz Photographs Christmas program, Dec. 2004 and 2005 Children preparing the figures
Performance photographs

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The Putz

"Messenger" article, November, 2004

  The Christmas custom of building miniature scenes to portray the nativity is observed by people in many lands.  In Pennsylvania Dutch communities, which have been influenced by people of Moravian faith, the building of the Putz, as they call their Christmas scene, is a very special tradition.  Among the fondest childhood memories of these people is the yearly anticipation of the Christmas Putz.  Often an entire room is set off for the display and the thrill of the first glimpse–familiar little carved figures, the glow of many beeswax candles and the smell of greens–filled childish hearts with an amazement never to be forgotten.

  The rocks, roots and stumps, the little carved figures and animals, are all very precious possessions of the creators of Putz and are quite often handed down from one generation to another.  Each year in the early autumn, families go to the woods to collect large quantities of moss, which is carefully kept moistened and green until Christmas, when it is used to cover the ground of the Putz.

During the weeks which follow Christmas, the custom of Putzing is still observed.  Friends and strangers alike are welcomed in various homes in the town to see the Putz.  For the stranger, this delightfully hospitable custom is a pleasant introduction into the colorful ways of the Pennsylvania Dutch.

From Traditionally Pennsylvania Dutch

by Edward C. Smith and Virginia van Horn Thompson Hastings House Publishers

The youth of St. Stephen’s and any willing adults will work collectively to build a Putz.  Carved figures will be replaced by handmade figures and moss may be represented by fabrics.

The Christmas story will be told by the children as they present their Putz to the congregation during the last week of Advent (time to be announced).

Each artisan is to give of him- or herself by collecting, creating and placing the parts of the Putz.  Families may begin developing this philosophy by deciding what, in their own home, could become a part of this special Christmas story.  Traditionally, families created a smaller Putz underneath their own Christmas tree.  You may want to try the same. 

Items to collect and bring to class by Nov. 14^th:

°  small logs, branches or rocks

°  fabrics and embellishments

°  straw

°  small pieces of wood for the stable and crib

°  small boxes, plastic bottles, spools or forms to be used as armatures for the figures

°  miniature items that Putz town people might bring as gifts to the Christ child

°  evergreens, holly and moss.  (Moss can be collected now and kept covered and moist in your basement to last until Christmas. 

    Evergreens and holly may be collected in December.)

                                                                                    Stacy DeBritz