Bright Christmas stars have long been a familiar sight across Germany during the darkest days of the year, but none is more famous — and lately as popular — as the Moravian stars from the eastern village of Herrnhut near the Polish and Czech borders.

They come in different sizes and shine in varying colors. They decorate church steeples and apartment windows, and even adorn the chancellery in Berlin during Advent.

“It’s the symbol of the Star of Bethlehem, which guided the three wise men to the Christ Child in the manger,” said Katja Ruppert, managing director of the Herrnhuter Sterne manufacturing company.

The stars have been handmade for over 180 years in Herrnhut, which was founded by refugees of the Moravian Church fleeing from the historical provinces of Bohemia and Moravia in what

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