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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

Tourist beliefs notwithstanding, a German folklore professor has found that the hex sign is a tradition of mainstream Pennsylvania Germans – not “plain groups” such as Mennonites – and appears ...

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 ...

LLENTOWN, Pa. — The Pennsylvania Dutch influence on the state’s Lehigh Valley shines through in any number of ways: the food, the festivals, the language. • A part of the culture’s very soul, however, ...

Among the highlights of this year’s 64th Annual PA Dutch Folk festival was an academic study done by Patrick Donmoyer, a young yet long established historian of our PA Dutch/German folk culture, who ...

Editor’s note: Welcome to the world of “Paranormal PA,” a PennLive series that delves into Pennsylvania-grown stories of spirits (like the ghost of a murdered girl whose cries can be heard in one of ...