What Do The Five-Point Stars on Barns and Houses Mean?

For years, I've wondered what these stars were about. Some were elaborately painted on sides of barns. Now I see them everywhere.

These 'barn stars' go from metal hangings, like in the photo above, to painted quilt-like designs like this Instagram post below.

But what do they mean? In the last few years, I've seen them on (and inside) houses in growing numbers. The popularity of distressed, barn-like decor can certainly explain why you see these stars so frequently now.

The five-point star was used by farmers in parts of the U.S. because they were considered lucky, much like a horseshoe above a doorway.

They are especially common in Pennsylvania and frequently seen in German-American farming communities, according to wikipedia.com.