As with most Moravian customs, Christ is the center of our Christmas celebrations. A Moravian Christmas Putz is a centuries-old German tradition continued today in many Moravian churches. A putz (pronounced “puts”), from the German word putzen meaning “to decorate”, is a scene created around the Nativity.
A Putz is a visual story of the birth of Jesus. It tells the Good News of the coming of the Christ Child from Isaiah’s prophecy and Mary’s annunciation to the visit of the Wise Men and the flight into Egypt. It is the Gospel in miniature, a joyful telling of the good news, and a way to share the wonder of Christ’s birth.
A Putz is more than just a manger scene or crèche however — it’s a display made up of multiple scenes. In its most elaborate form, the putz fills an entire room. Big or small, the manger is always the center of any putz. Many of the items used in the display are handmade or have been donated by members of the congregation. The figures, sometimes antiques of German origin, are nestled amidst live moss, greens, driftwood and rocks, while tiny lights illuminate each miniature scene. In a traditional Moravian putz, you enter the room in darkness and as the story is told each scene is lit – historically with candles, and in modern times with electric lights and switches.
The practice of putz building is uniquely Moravian. Bethlehem’s first settlers brought their putz figures with them in the 18th century. Early Moravians would prepare these displays in their homes, and then “go putzing” during the week between Christmas Eve and New Year’s, enjoying each other’s putzes.
In the hustle of the holiday season, a pause to reflect upon the central event of Christmas with the help of a Putz is like a breath of fresh air, which allows the true spirit of Christmas to enter anew into one’s heart and soul.
The Christmas Putz
Our putz figures and our Moravian Star were made by the Reverend Roy Ledbetter, a dear friend and former student pastor of our congregation. Pastor Roy is currently serving a Lutheran Church in St. Louis, but Schoeneck is still his church family.
Pastor Roy said, “The Putz really is very simple. It’s intended as a teaching tool. The Putz Builders’ motto is ‘Glory to God and Peace on Earth’.” Pastor Roy hand-carved our putz figures in loving memory of Kim Eugene Kostenbader and Allen and Catherine Kostenbader.
Pastor Roy said, “I started carving the figures for the Putz back in the 1990s. I found pictures of figures I thought I could use in the various scenes to tell the Gospel story and worked from there, using them to inspire my figures. Telling the Gospel story of Our dear Savior’s Birth was always the main thing I wanted to do.”
To document the putz, Pastor Roy wrote the following words inside the lid of the box:
Nativity Scene presented to Schoeneck Moravian Congregation on Sunday, 11 November 2001 by the carver to the Glory of God made Man in Christ Jesus, in loving memory of Kim Eugene Kostenbader, and in honor of Allen Eugene and Catherine m.n. Schoeneberger Kostenbader. “Great indeed is the Mystery of our Faith: God was manifest in the Flesh” 1 Timothy 3:16. Pastor Roy also wrote: “Carved by Roy Eric Allen Ledbetter, presbyter Fratrum in the 2000th Year of the Incarnation of our God and Savior.
Over the years, Pastor Roy continued to carve figures and scenes to add to the putz, bringing it to its current six scenes and approximately 30 figures. All of the figures are signed by Pastor Roy. He also wrote the year he carved each figure and St. Louis, the place where he carved the figures. Many of the figures include a Bible verse or a scripture text.
Schoeneck’s putz is set up in our sanctuary pulpit and is strung with very small white lights. Pastor Roy said, “I learned so much about the gentle, loving simplicity of our Moravian heritage, walking with the Savior. And I wanted to reflect that in the simplicity of the Putz. I think the way it is displayed in church does that very well.”
Pastor Roy carved these figures in 2000. The Mary figure is marked with the verse, “The virgin’s name was Mary.” The angel’s wings are marked with the verse, “The Angel Gabriel came in unto her,” and the body of the angel is marked with the verse, “Hail you who are highly favored. The Lord is with you.” The angel’s wings are a separate piece and are attached with toothpicks.
The open book on the trunk shows the words, “There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse and a branch shall grow out of his roots.” In addition to displaying these figures with the putz, we use these figures on the first Sunday of Advent at our afternoon Advent Holy Communion.
These figures are signed with the year 2001. The Joseph figure is labeled with Matthew 1:20: “But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.”
The figures of Mary and Joseph were carved in 2006, and the Innkeeper figure is labeled 2007.
If you look closely, you will notice that the innkeeper was carved in the likeness of Pastor Roy himself!
The figures of Baby Jesus, Mary, Joseph, and the kneeling shepherd are labeled 2001.
The shepherds and angel were carved in 2003, and the sheep are labeled 2005. The angel’s wings are a separate carved piece attached with a woodworking joint and a screw.
The other shepherd is labeled 2004. His walking stick is a very thin separate piece that fits into his hand.
Also created for this scene of the putz is a very special piece. This figure shows an angel leading two children to Baby Jesus.
Pastor Roy said, “The little children here with the Angel were modelled after my children, Anna and Christian.”
He drew an arrow on the bottom with the words “Towards Viewer” indicating that we are supposed to see the children from the back, as they are turned to look at Baby Jesus.
This figure reminds us that we are all Children of God and we are all welcome at the manger to worship Baby Jesus.
Pastor Roy said, “Years ago Bishop Kenneth Hamilton told me that the Baby Jesus should be at the heart of every Putz, and that has always been my goal, to place the Baby Jesus in the center and to use the Putz to tell the wonderful story of the great and almighty God becoming a tiny Baby to show us how much God loves us and to lead us home to Himself.”
Pastor Roy made our star extra special with the added layer of yellow points. The star is lit the first Sunday of Advent and remains through Christmas and Epiphany.
Each wise man is labeled with his name: Balthazar, Caspar, and Melchior. The gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh are carved separately and fit together very carefully into each figure.
Mary with Baby Jesus and the three Wise Men figures were carved in 2002.
The ox and donkey are labeled 2001 and have the Bible verse Isaiah 1:3: “The ox knows its master, the donkey its owner’s manger, but Israel does not know, my people do not understand.”
Merry Christmas!
The Easter Putz
A Moravian Putz is well known as a beloved Christmas tradition that tells the story of the birth of Jesus. However, some Moravian churches also use the putz format to tell the Easter story.
Schoeneck’s Sunday School was inspired to create our own Easter Putz!
As they looked around the church, they found lots of items that could be used to create each scene and tell the Easter story.
Some of these items are from Sunday School, and some are Christmas Putz figures carved by Pastor Roy. He tells us that the Easter putz is an old Alpine tradition and is “such a wonderful education tool, for adults as well as children.”
To create this scene some of Pastor Roy’s shepherd figures are used. There is a flat palm branch to represent the palms that the people laid down before Jesus.
The figure of Jesus on the donkey is actually the Christmas figure of Mary on the donkey. We have also included the Innkeeper figure, which was carved in the image of Pastor Roy, so that he can figuratively be a part of our Easter Putz.
This figurine of The Last Supper is from our church library. It shows Jesus with the disciples as they share the Passover meal. In front of the table, you can see the bowl and towel that Jesus used to wash the disciples’ feet and the water jars.
This figure of Jesus praying is actually one of the shepherd figures carved by Pastor Roy. While the Bible story does not mention sheep in the garden, we have included one of Pastor Roy’s sheep to remind us that Jesus is the Lamb of God.
The Jesus figure with the purple robe is actually the Joseph figure from our Christmas Putz. The Pilate figure is one of the wise men, Balthazar. The crown of thorns is from Sunday School and was created by JoAnn Heckman.
The stained-glass window in this corner of the sanctuary shows Jesus with Pilate, who is pictured with a bowl to wash his hands and refuse the responsibility of Jesus’ death.
The figure of Jesus carrying the cross is new for 2025 — it was donated to the Sunday School following 2024’s Easter program.
The three wooden crosses are from Sunday School. The large cross includes a figure of Jesus, which is meant to be removed for Great Sabbath when Jesus was in the tomb.
Again we have more of Pastor Roy’s sheep to remind us that Jesus is our sacrificial lamb and died for our sins.
This empty tomb was created by Linda (nee Kostenbader) Meylach for her Sunday School class many years ago. It is made of painted styrofoam.
The stone is a separate piece that can be placed in front of the doorway to represent when Jesus was laid in the tomb, or to the side of the doorway to represent when Jesus was raised.
The angel figure is from the Christmas Putz, and the Mary Magdalene figure is actually Mary the mother of Jesus from the Advent scene when the angel greets her.
Pastor Roy said, “The Annunciation figures work really well for the Easter scene at the Tomb. They fit right in. I approve enthusiastically.”
We have also included Pastor Roy’s figure of an angel leading the children to see the resurrected Jesus.
This figure of Jesus is from our church nursery and the church figure is from Sunday School. We are reminded that the Peace of Christ is with us, and that Jesus is sending us out into the world to share the good news.
Happy Easter!
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In Gratitude…
Schoeneck Moravian Church would like to thank Sarah (née Dreydoppel) Hriniak for her time, talent and dedication in putting this information about Schoeneck’s Christmas and Easter Putzes together. She has used this information to create Sunday School Christmas and Easter Programs to share with the congregation. The descriptions and details of the Putzes were interspersed with the relevant Bible verses and appropriate hymns.
And of course, we are eternally grateful to our dear friend Reverend Roy Ledbetter for his time, talent, and dedication in hand-making Schoeneck’s Christmas Putz. His thoughtfulness and creativity are evident in every figure and piece he carved. Schoeneck Moravian Church is blessed to have him as a brother in Christ. Pastor Roy, you have fulfilled your promise: “The Putz Builders’ motto is ‘Glory to God and Peace on Earth’.”
Some information on this page has been taken from the Moravian.org website. Copyright © 2010-2025, Interprovincial Board of Communications, Moravian Church in America. All Rights Reserved.