Black Star Emblem?

[kickinbull]

I have seen these around and wonder what is the meaning? My sister noticed when she visited that there are a lot of them here in SC KY. I started noticing, she is right. They appear on houses mostly.

 

[Rookie]

Got a picture a one we could see????

 

[Hasbeen]

I also was wondering about these. I visited family in Central Ohio this past weekend and saw many of them. Most were on farm houses and were usually accompanied by a great deal of patriotic decorations such as flags and bunting. Without getting a good look, just driving by, they seemed to be a plywood cutout painted black and maybe 3 ft. by 3 ft. in size. I am very curious about this also.

 

[dun]

I was thinking maybe a KIA serviceman

 

[Hasbeen]

I was thinking maybe a KIA serviceman

That was my first thought but I sure hope not. They were on like every forth or fifth house in very rural areas. That would be an awfully high price for such small communities.

 

[Hasbeen]

They could be mennonites. I know ky and such has high populations of amish and mennonites. Which both sects are anabaptist. Basically the mennonites are an offshoot of the amish.

I don't think so. I was in Amish country but these were the typical Central Ohio crop farms with all the modern equipment and buildings.

 

[Rustler9]

Are you sure they're not Hex signs? Mennonites and Amish have them on their barns in those areas.

 

[Hasbeen]

Are you sure they're not Hex signs? Mennonites and Amish have them on their barns in those areas.

Hex signs?

 

[Rustler9]

That's what the Pennsylvania Dutch call them. I married a Mennonite girl once in another life. Actually, she was raised in a Mennonite family but chose to run off with me rather than staying in that religion. The Hex signs actually come from the Amish, they are fairly superstitious. I don't know if this is what ya'll are talking about or not but alot of the barns up in Ohio and Pennsylvania have them painted on them. They (Hex signs)are kind of neat to look at.

 

[jw]

Google "black painted stars" and you will get, among other things:



History of the "Barn Star"

Here is some history about these stars that have become so popular on todays' homes and barns. In days gone by, American barns, particularly German farms, one could see a large decoration in the shape of a star mounted on the face of the barn. These were called barn stars. Sometimes they were just aesthetic, but sometimes they represented the trademark of a specific barn builder. Although they go back to at least the 1820s in Pennsylvania, they were most popular after the Civil War. Barn stars were known as signs of good fortune and luck.

 

[Hasbeen]

Thanks, jw, that has to be it. I tried to Google "black stars" and just got a lot of pictures of basketball players. :lol:

 

[Dave]

There is a brand new house next to one of my hay fields with a black star above the attached garage. This house was just built this winter. We have had a lot of Mennonites move into the area lately but these people don't appear to be amoungest them.

 

[Alice]

There is a brand new house next to one of my hay fields with a black star above the attached garage. This house was just built this winter. We have had a lot of Mennonites move into the area lately but these people don't appear to be amoungest them.

I would'nt be surprised if it's not adapted from the Mennonites in the area...kind of as a precaution...a good luck symbol, maybe. And, maybe in other parts of the country that are populated with Amish and Mennonites, others have seen their hex signs and thing it's really neat looking, so they've begun doing the same. I dunno.

I do know that when I'd visit my grandparents in Ohio I always loved looking at the hex signs on the Amish barns...thought they were cool... 8)

Alice

 

[Hasbeen]

It appears it is amish after all

http://www.the-artistic-garden.com/barn-star.html

Looks like I was right again as was rustler

That appears logical to me. I think you are right although I was hoping for something a little more glamorous than just a good luck charm. Odd that I had never seen it before when it apparently has been around for centuries.

Hey Dave, run over and ask those people!

 

[3MR]

Dont they sell the big 3d tin ones around you guys. Has a star with a circle around it. People use them as decorations.

 

[Hasbeen]

Dont they sell the big 3d tin ones around you guys. Has a star with a circle around it. People use them as decorations.

No, I've not seen them before. The star with a circle around it I thought was a pentagram, the symbol of Satan often used by those who practice witchcraft. No way I would expect to see one of those on a farmhouse or barn.

 

[3MR]

Dont they sell the big 3d tin ones around you guys. Has a star with a circle around it. People use them as decorations.

No, I've not seen them before. The star with a circle around it I thought was a pentagram, the symbol of Satan often used by those who practice witchcraft. No way I would expect to see one of those on a farmhouse or barn.

The pentagram has many meanings, one of them Christain. It was used to symbolize the five wounds of Jesus.

Also a pentagram is the actual star, drawn with five lines. The circle has nothing to do with it.

But...... The decoration I am referring to is not a pentagram.

 

[3MR]

Barn stars. This is not a pentagram as it is not drawn with five lines. One version of the barn star has a circle around it.

http://mysticalley.com/outdoormetalstars.html

 

[Hasbeen]

Barn stars. This is not a pentagram as it is not drawn with five lines. One version of the barn star has a circle around it.

http://mysticalley.com/outdoormetalstars.html

I stand corrected. Thanks, you guys have been a wealth of information. I still can't believe that as popular as these things seem to be I had never noticed them before.

 

[Dave]

I don't think I will run over to ask him. I was picking up hay there on Sunday. He was mowing his lawn. I waved, he glared. Nice friendly sort. I figured it was because he was mowing with a green lawn mower and I was picking up bales with a blue tractor.