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Arts & Entertainment

Macungie Hex Signs Display History

They are pieces of traditional Pennsylvania Dutch artwork that you pass every day.

The hex sign is a Pennsylvania German symbol commonly found painted over the forebays of traditional red Pennsylvania bank barns.  

They are concentrated in and around the northwestern and western Lehigh County and in Berks County.

Some say they're just decoration while others say there is a definite message in a hex sign.

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For example, a hex sign featuring a "swirling swastika" -- named long before the word earned negative connotations -- was either a plea for water that would keep fields green or a plea to keep water (a creek, river, etc.) inside its banks so that it didn't flood a field or a home.

Often barns that display hex signs have the doors outlined in white. Among the outlining of the real doors, farmers hoping to ward off evil spirits or bad luck would paint the outline of a door painted where there was no door. This "witch door" was the one a witch would supposedly fly into and, since it was only the outline of a door, the witch , the embodiment of bad luck, would be not be able to get into the barn.

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We pass by these pieces of folk art every day, but take a good look at some of the hex signs found in and around Macungie.

From time to time we'll feature more photos of hex signs. Know were there's a good one? Please tell us!

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