Winston-Salem’s Moravian Candle Tea Has Run Since 1929. 6 Old Salem Christmas Traditions Worth Seeing in Person

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Moravian settlers founded Salem in 1766, and their Christmas customs never left. Today, Old Salem Christmas traditions draw visitors to Winston-Salem, North Carolina, every December. The best known is the Moravian Candle Tea at the Single Brothers’ House, which Travel and Leisure describes as a local tradition since 1929. Home Moravian Church’s women’s fellowship still runs it during the first weeks of Advent.

The Moravians were a Protestant group from what is now the Czech Republic who came to North Carolina seeking religious freedom. Their holiday traditions center on music, candlelight, simple baked goods, and community. Many are still practiced by local congregations, not staged for tourists, which is part of what makes them feel real. Here are six to experience in person.

6 Old Salem Christmas Traditions Worth Seeing in Person

Old Salem Museums and Gardens is a living history district in Winston-Salem with restored buildings, costumed interpreters, and working trades. During the holiday season, it adds special programs. Old Salem says holiday activities run every Saturday between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

1. The Candle Tea at the Single Brothers’ House

The Candle Tea is the signature event of the season. Guests move in small groups through the 18th-century Single Brothers’ House, where church members demonstrate beeswax candle-making, sing carols with a historic organ, and serve Moravian coffee and sugar cake. Visit Winston-Salem says the tour ends with the putz, a miniature scene.

Home Moravian Church says the Candle Tea takes place during the first two weeks of Advent. Old Salem lists 2026 dates of December 3 to 5 and December 10 to 12. Tickets are inexpensive, typically under $10 for adults in recent years, and proceeds support local and global missions. Reservations are strongly advised, since time slots fill.

2. The Moravian Lovefeast

A lovefeast is a simple worship service focused on fellowship and music. During the service, servers pass out a sweet bun and coffee, and the congregation shares them while hymns are sung. At Christmas, lovefeasts often include beeswax candles trimmed with red paper, lit and raised during the final hymn.

Visit Winston-Salem notes that dozens of churches hold lovefeasts throughout Christmas Eve, and many also hold them on the Sunday before. Services are open to visitors. Check individual church websites for times. Arrive early, since popular services fill fast. Even if you are not religious, the candlelit moment at the end is one of the most moving things you can see in Winston-Salem at Christmas.

3. Moravian Stars and the Heritage Bridge

The Moravian star is a many-pointed star that symbolizes the Star of Bethlehem. Old Salem notes that the stars were traditionally made in Moravian boarding schools during Advent in the 1800s, possibly as a geometry lesson, by gluing paper pyramids together into a star.

During the holidays, Moravian stars hang in windows and doorways across Winston-Salem. For a dramatic display, Visit Winston-Salem points to the Heritage Bridge in Old Salem, where dozens of stars light the walkway each December. The city’s largest Moravian star, nearly 35 feet tall, sits atop Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center. You can buy stars in paper, wood, or plastic at Old Salem’s shops to take home.

4. Sugar Cake and Spice Cookies From Winkler Bakery

Moravian baking is a big part of the season. The two classics are Moravian sugar cake, a yeast cake topped with butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon, and Moravian spice cookies, which are rolled paper-thin and crisp.

Winkler Bakery in Old Salem has been baking since 1799, and Travel and Leisure notes that bakers still fire the same wood oven used since that year. Buy sugar cake and cookies here, or look for Moravian cookies at local shops and bakeries across the city. They make easy gifts, since the thin cookies keep well in tins.

5. The Christmas Putz

A putz is a miniature scene, often a nativity or a model of a town, set up during the Christmas season. The word comes from a German word meaning to decorate. Moravian families and churches have built putzes for generations.

The Candle Tea ends with a putz, and Visit Winston-Salem describes it as a miniature re-creation of a snowy 18th-century Salem on Christmas Eve. Some Moravian churches also display putzes during the season. They range from simple nativities to elaborate scenes with lights, moving parts, and narration.

6. Old Salem’s Saturday Holiday Programs

Old Salem’s holiday Saturdays give you a broad sampler of Moravian Christmas life in one visit. The museum says the season starts with a Christmas Kick-Off on November 28, followed by St. Nick and the Moravian Market on December 5 and ChristmasFest on December 12. Activities are included with general admission.

Expect traditional Moravian Christmas music in historic buildings, hands-on activities for children, trade demonstrations, and costumed interpreters explaining holiday customs. Old Salem also offers evening tours on select dates. Holiday general admission tickets go on sale online in mid-November, and the museum says specialty Saturday tickets do not sell out.

How Old Salem Christmas Traditions Began

The Moravians, formally the Moravian Church or Unitas Fratrum, trace their roots to the 1400s in Bohemia and Moravia. In the 1700s, Moravian missionaries settled in Pennsylvania and then North Carolina, where they bought a large tract of land they called Wachovia. Salem was founded in 1766 as the central town.

Moravian life was organized around the church, with members grouped by age, gender, and marital status. Single men lived and worked together in the Single Brothers’ House. Christmas was a major church festival, marked by music, candles, lovefeasts, and baking. Many of those customs survived as Salem grew into Winston-Salem.

Planning a Holiday Visit

Old Salem is at 900 Old Salem Road in Winston-Salem, a short drive from downtown. Parking is available near the visitor center.

A few tips help:

• Book Candle Tea tickets early. Time slots can fill.
• Visit on a Saturday between Thanksgiving and Christmas for the full program.
• Dress warmly. Many activities involve walking between buildings in cold weather.
• Plan to eat. The area has restaurants nearby, and Winkler Bakery is a must for snacks.
• Check church schedules for lovefeasts if you are in town on Christmas Eve.

Downtown Winston-Salem, a few minutes away, has hotels, restaurants, and its own holiday events.

What It Costs

Old Salem charges general admission for its historic buildings, with holiday programs included on Saturdays. The Candle Tea requires a separate ticket, priced low as a church fundraiser. Lovefeasts at local churches are generally free, though some accept donations. Moravian stars, candles, and baked goods at Old Salem shops range from a few dollars to around $30 or more for larger star kits.

Moravian Music at Christmas

Music is central to Moravian worship, and Christmas is when you hear it most. Moravian brass ensembles, often called bands, play chorales outdoors and in churches during the season. Their sound is one of the most recognizable parts of a Winston-Salem Christmas.

At many Christmas Eve lovefeasts, a child or soloist sings “Morning Star,” a traditional Moravian hymn, often answered by the congregation. The Moravian Music Foundation, which partners with Old Salem on ChristmasFest, preserves a large archive of early Moravian music. If you love choral or brass music, plan your visit around a concert or service.

Taking the Traditions Home

Old Salem’s shops make it easy to bring part of the season home. Recent prices on the museum’s online shop included:

• Paper Moravian stars made by a local artisan, about $24.
• Lighted Moravian star kits, about $30 to $33.
• Beeswax taper candles, about $11.
• Moravian lovefeast bun mix, about $11.

Winkler Bakery sells sugar cake and Moravian cookies, which travel well. Stars are the most popular souvenir, and many families hang one on a porch every December after a visit.

A Moravian Christmas Weekend Plan

• Friday: Arrive, walk Old Salem’s streets after dark to see stars and candles in windows.
• Saturday: Attend Old Salem’s holiday program and buy sugar cake at Winkler Bakery.
• Saturday evening: Join a Candle Tea session if your dates line up.
• Sunday: Attend a lovefeast at a local Moravian church if one is scheduled.

That weekend gives you the full range of traditions in a relaxed pace.

Getting to Old Salem

Old Salem sits just south of downtown Winston-Salem, near Interstate 40 and US 52. Winston-Salem is about 30 minutes west of Greensboro and roughly an hour and a half northeast of Charlotte by car. Piedmont Triad International Airport, between Greensboro and Winston-Salem, is the closest major airport. Once you arrive, the historic district is compact and best explored on foot, with brick sidewalks connecting the main buildings, shops, and Salem Square.

Why These Traditions Feel Different

Many holiday events feel designed for crowds. Moravian Christmas traditions in Winston-Salem feel rooted in community. Church members run the Candle Tea. Congregations hold lovefeasts for their own members and welcome visitors. Bakers use an oven fired since 1799.

That continuity is what makes a December visit special. You are not watching a reenactment. You are taking part in traditions that have been practiced in the same place for more than two centuries.