The meaning of barn stars in Amish country can be traced back to the 1700’s, and to at least the 1820’s in Pennsylvania. Barn stars were most popular after the Civil War. On many older barns, one could see a large decoration in the shape of a star mounted on the face of the barn. Sometimes they were just aesthetic, but sometimes they represented the trademark of a specific barn builder.

It is our understanding the original star shape was a three- or four-pointed star but that has changed throughout the years.  The barn star composition has changed over the years too. At first stars were built directly onto the barn . Later the stars were crafted from wood as a separate piece.

Presently they are made of varying grades of metal. J'Ollie Primitives uses 22 gauge galvanized metal (the thickness of a dime) to ensure that our customers are purchasing the best quality barn star.

While many folks assign "meaning" to the barn stars, we think that they are simply a wonderful decorative accent and that they look great on barns, homes, garages, or anywhere indoors.

Colors have also been given "meaning." I believe that the colors' significance can be traced back to various religious beliefs, fen shui, and a few other bits and pieces of folk lore.

	Black means protection, also used to blend or bind elements together.
	Blue means protection, peace, calmness and spirituality.
	Brown means mother earth, also can mean friendship and strength.
	Green means growth, fertility, success in things and ideas that grow.
	Orange means abundance in career, projects and matters needing an added push.
	Red means emotions, passion, charisma, lust and also creativity.
	Violet means things that are sacred.
	White means purity, power of the moon, allows energy to flow freely.
	Yellow means health in body and mind, love of man and the sun, connection to  God.