Talk:To Plea or Not to Plea/@comment-26211734-20150301004533/@comment-26211734-20150301010343

Hex signs are traditional folk art using colors and patterns from ancient (by that I mean dark ages) German mystical cultures. When these Germans emigrated to Pennsylvania (William Penn's religiously tolerant colony), they developed hex signs as barn decorations displaying goodwill. However, as Amish arose in Pennsylvania, they became regarded as witchcraft. That's why even though the correct Pennsylvania Dutch word for welcome is "welkum," you will most often see hex signs use the German word "Willkommen," because that's more original to the culture and development of hex signs. It's perfectly normal for the Pennsylvania Dutch form of "Willkommen" to be pronounced differently than the German form of "Willkommen."