I drive by several homes on the way to the gym every day that have metal decorative stars on the front of their homes.  I have always wondered if it actually meant anything?  Is it a symbol for something?  Does it have a religious meaning?  I've especially noticed these metal stars in rural areas in North Dakota.  There's even a scandalous urban myth about these stars.  More on that in a minute.

Well, I decided to do a deep dive on the subject.  I even took a drive in the country and decided to knock on a farmer friend's door to ask him in person what the star symbolizes?

First off, my farmer friend wasn't a whole lot of help.  After a couple of beers, he thought the stars were strictly decorative and he wasn't aware of any underlying meaning of the star.  Okay, no help there.

According to Distractify, these metal stars or even sometimes stars that are made of wood are known to some as " Amish Barnstars", "Barnstars" and one crazy urban myth is that these stars are code for "swingers."  Somebody cue John Anderson, "Swinging."

I figured that was appropriate since John Anderson will be performing at Prairie Knights Casino on Saturday, May 21st. Could that be true? The star is a symbol of swingers in Bismarck Mandan?  It seems that is nothing more than a rumor that was started on a strippers website back in 2007.

Instead, it looks like the star goes back to when German settlers came to America back in the 1700s.  These Germans came from the Rhine region of Germany and belonged to the Amish, Mennonite, and Lutheran groups.  These symbols were more of a unifying star.  They also became popular after the Civil War as a patriotic symbol.

The color of the star was also believed to have meaning.

Blue=protection, peace, and calmness

Orange=success in your career

Red=emtion, passion, and creativity

White=Power of the moon

Now you know what a star means on our North Dakota homes.