(4-patch, grid = 8 x 8, scroll down to tile)
ANTIQUE GEOMETRIC QUILT DESIGNS CHRISTMAS STAR
< INDEX Quilt Notes: For full-size pattern templates for this version of CHRISTMAS STAR, see 500 FULL SIZE PATCHWORK PATTERNS by Maggie Malone, Stirling Publishing, 1985. A slight variation on the design was illustrated in the Kansas City Star in 1931, according to Barbara Brackman's ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PIECED QUILT DESIGNS. The historical "Bethlehem Star" may have been a double eclipse of Jupiter. An article at CNN says that "the Mathesis, a book written in 334 A.D. by Firmicus Maternus, an astrologer of Constantine the Great, described an astrological event involving an eclipse of Jupiter by the moon in Aries, and said that it signified the birth of a divine king." The downloadable Merry Christmas graphic was offered as free clip art at bravenet.com a few years ago, but no longer seems to be distributed there.