Christmas in the South

"...the lovefeast remains one of the most cherished traditions of the Moravian Church and one that other non-Moravian churches have instituted in their own congregations. Lovefeasts were special services reserved for significant occasions, like Christmas."

-Nancy Smith Thomas, Moravian Christmas in the South

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A few years ago I found this little treasure on Amazon after I began searching for more information about the Moravian lovefeast and other traditions of the early Moravians here in North Carolina. I became interested in learning more about it after our church had a lovefeast on a Sunday evening in December. I was intrigued with this beautiful yet simple service of music, Scripture reading, and refreshments. The sweet buns came directly from the Old Salem bakery in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, about a two-hour drive from my home. While I had visited Old Salem two times with school groups, I didn't really focus on the Christmas traditions of the Moravians at that time, so I turned to Amazon.com to find a book that would tell me everything I wanted to know about the beautiful celebration of Christmas in the early settlement.

The first Moravian lovefeast in North Carolina took place in 1753 when a small group of settlers met together to celebrate the birth of Jesus. They held a Bible-based service of music, fellowship, and some simple foods on that Christmas eve so long ago. This tradition remains in many churches today. It all began when the Moravians in Herrnhut, Germany held their first lovefeast in 1727.  The people hung around after the service because they were so moved by the music and readings. A man named Count Zinzendorf  noticed that the people were standing around so he sent for some drink and food so the people could share a meal together. It was how they showed "agape," or Christian love for one another on that Christmas eve.

There are beautiful pictures, photographs, and more in this hardback volume that you can enjoy during this season of celebrating the birth of Jesus, For example, there is a drawing of men bringing in the Yule log, photographs of the many buildings of Old Salem, and recipes for Moravian Sugar Cake and Lovefeast Coffee. You'll enjoy looking at the pictures throughout the book. It makes a good gift for anyone who is a history buff or someone who is interested in Christian traditions at Christmas time. The book was written by Nancy Smith Thomas, a woman who worked at Old Salem Museums & Gardens for 18 years. Through the questions of visitors at the museum, she realized what topics the people were most interested in and she began her in-depth study of the Moravian culture and their celebration of Christmas. This is a wonderful book that I think you will enjoy this time of year.

I finished a great book for my book club this month, The Girls of Atomic City: The Untold Story of the Women Who Helped Win World War II by Denise Kiernan. I must admit that this story is new to me, but it shouldn't be. Somehow I never heard of it in any of my history classes, newspapers, or magazines. But as they say, it's never too late to learn, so here I am learning about an incredible group of people who changed history forever and made people begin to look at warfare in a completely different way. As you may recall, the Manhattan Project began in New York City and was the beginning of the creation of the atomic bomb in America. The project continued in other areas and eventually moved about 75,000 people to Eastern Tennessee (Oak Ridge) to work on things that were so secretive that they didn't even know themselves what they were really doing. Many of the employees at the project were young women from small towns who had never been away from home before. But they were lured by solid pay and the attraction that they were going to do something important for America, so they left their families and even their own children to move to Tennessee. The new employees of Oak Ridge lived in a "pre-fab" town built out of tiny temporary houses and large warehouses. They lived on muddy "streets" and had no indoor plumbing. They weren't allowed to cook their own food and had very little contact with the outside world  They were not allowed to discuss their work with anyone and their letters home were censored and marked up because NO ONE could know anything about the secret project going on in the Appalachian Mountains.


Some of "the Girls of Atomic City" are still alive - they are in their eighties and nineties today. They have given us important information about the events that led up to the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in WW II. To date, no other cities in the world have experienced a nuclear attack of this magnitude where thousands upon thousands of people were killed instantly. Yet these woman and others knew that they helped to end the war when other attempts to do so were ineffective. This book reminds me of some of the other "surprise" stories that I've read. It reminds me of books such as The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, The Boys in the Boat, Unbroken, and others. I enjoy books about things that really happened in the world, stories that perhaps were not very well-known in the beginning. I think you'll enjoy The Girls of Atomic City, and I look forward to discussing it with my book club.

I'm not sure what I'm going to read next, but I'm sure it will be another good one. Although I've read about 500 books in the past 30 years, I still find hidden gems and learn a lot in the process. I would love to hear your thoughts on today's post, so leave me a note. Your thoughts are always welcomed and appreciated.

Merry Christmas, and have a blessed holy season,

Melissa Hill
Book Blogger
www.onegoodbookblog.blogspot.com