Chapter 5
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83
The Pennsylvania Dutch first settled in
the
Lancaster
area. Today, they are still
doing well in Lancaster and in other rural
parts of Pennsylvania. It is interesting to
know that these religious groups no longer
exist in Europe.
Today, there aremore than70,000Amish
people in the United States and Canada.
Theoldest and second largest community is
located inLancasterCounty. There are large
communities in
Ohio
,
Indiana
, and
Ontario
,
Canada
. All of theseplaces aregood farming
regions. Eight out of ten Pennsylvania
Dutch live in Pennsylvania.
Differences and
Beliefs of the
PennsylvaniaDutch
B
ecause of their religious beliefs, most
Pennsylvania Dutch in the United
States can be placed in two main
groups. One group is theMennonites, who
live life as most of us do today. They drive
dark colored cars.
They are best known for the colorful
designs placed upon their barns. These
designs are called
hex signs
. To put a hex
on someone is towishhim or her bad luck.
It was commonly thought that hex signs
were placed on barns to protect the people
from a hex. This is not so. The hex sign is
simply a colorful design placed upon the
people’s barns. They do not believe
in putting these objects on the walls of
their homes.
The other religious group is divided into
the
OldOrder Amish
and the
TeamMennonite
.
Theydonot decoratewithhex signs. In fact,
they do not believe in decorating anything.
Because they live a simple life and do not
believe in war, they are called the “plain
people” or “gentle people.”
The best known among the “plain
people” are the Amish. To the Amish, their
religion is a way of life. You could study
about the Amish in the 1720s, or study
about them in the 2000s. They hold the
same beliefs now as they did then. For
example, they dress in the same style
clothing as theydidover 290years ago. The
Amish have helped to save a rural lifestyle
that was common in the 1700s. As a result,
most Amish are dairy farmers. Most crops
are raised for the family and dairy herd.
However, some Amish people raise tobacco
as a cash crop. They make money from
selling the tobacco.
TheAmishbelieve that the outsideworld
is wicked and evil. They must live apart
from it. They are not allowed to have any
outside world influences in their home.
Painting a hex
sign on a barn.
