Perhaps nothing symbolizes Pennsylvania Dutch culture more than the hex sign. Some believe hex signs were first added to barns as a kind of painted prayer, usually for blessings and as protection from ...

The Germans’ love of color and decoration led to their putting designs and color on every surface that stood still, and even some that didn’t. An 1810 watercolor by Lewis Miller of York depicts a ...

In reference to the June 24 Sunday magazine article “Star Bright,” I thank The Morning Call for not using the word “hex” in bold type within the pages. Ever since the explosion of tourism, folk ...

KUTZTOWN, Pa. - For one local artist, creating art is not just a job but an adventure he shares with people every year at the Kutztown Folk Festival. "I paint Hex signs and I paint barn stars," said ...

READING — Eric Claypoole has been around hex signs since he was 5 years old, but there's one question he still can't answer: Why do the Pennsylvania Dutch paint hex signs on their barns? Claypoole, 47 ...

I wanted to see distelfinks. But they were hard to find. In Pennsylvania Dutch country, the distelfink, a goldfinch that eats thistle seeds and builds thistledown nests, is a good-luck bird. It also ...

I wanted to see distelfinks. But they were hard to find. In Pennsylvania Dutch country, the distelfink — an imaginary goldfinch that eats thistle seeds and builds thistledown nests — is a good-luck ...

If you're lucky enough to have visited some parts of Pennsylvania Dutch country, you'll be familiar with what historians call "hex signs." These are large, often colorful, usually geometrical, and ...

A live hex sign painting was a new addition to this year’s Kutztown Folk Festival. Standing on a ladder 12 feet in the air, hex sign painter Patrick Donmoyer, Pennsylvania German Cultural Heritage ...