Home Moravian Church in Old Salem is known worldwide for its festivities during the Holy Week. And this year, this North Carolina tradition to mark the holiest time in the Christian calendar, happens to fall on the same weekend as the NCAA Men’s Basketball National Championship. But the Moravians have been at it a lot longer than the Tar Heels or Blue Devils.
“This is our March Madness,” Associate Pastor Craig Atwood told the Carolina Journal during a recent visit to historic church.
A FEAST FOR THE SENSES
Founded four years before the US Declaration of Independence, Home Moravian celebrated its semiquincentennial in 2021. April 5 marks the 254th celebration of its Easter sunrise service.
Past years have seen up to 8,000 attendees for the service, which features a brass band with hundreds of musicians playing traditional German-influenced Moravian hymns…