Religious Medals

Religious medals represent the faith and belief of a person. Medals are usually metal tokens which feature a unique significance. Religious medals characterize the symbols and practices which reflect the belief of a particular religion. Religious medals are common in polytheistic beliefs like Hinduism. Catholics also give special importance to religious medals. The medals are also prevalent in other religious societies such as Buddhism. Religious medals are adopted from the ritual practices of tribes. The use of religious medals resembles the practice of using amulets to defend the evil practices. Some members of the society impart sacredness to these religious medals where as some others consider it only as a souvenir or a commemorative piece. Religious medals have become an integral part of the custom practices in certain societies.



Religious medals reflect the unique practices prevalent in a group. Religious medals of Hinduism usually feature the picture of the deity. Some medals feature the holy geometrical figures. Religious medals of Catholics feature the picture of Jesus Christ, Virgin Mary and the patron saints. Some of the Catholic medals are issued as memorials of special events or places. The medals usually have the carvings such as "pray for us." Some of the religious medals feature the life and preaching of holy persons.



Religious medals are popular because of the belief that they can impart good fortune to the people who have them. The medals will help to assure the devotion to the god. The people who use the medals trust that the medals will protect them from evil spirits and help to keep the virtues of the life. Apart from the spiritual significance, religious medals have archaeological relevance. These religious, memorial pieces help to provide an idea about the past events. Some of the vintage medals are very costly and are treated as a valuable collection.

Religious medals are popular as jewelry also. They are sometimes custom made in different metals such as gold, silver, bronze, or copper. Religious medals are generally used as pendants. Some use it as bracelets, part of the rosary, etc. Necklaces in the pattern of religious medals are a recent trend in fashion.

Article Source: EzineArticles.com Eddie Tobey

Spirituality and religion appear to be back in style in the commercial world

Though it is commonplace for large chain stores to offer a wide variety of products for any possible spiritual need, it is rare for smaller, independent stores to cater to multiple faiths.

When Susan Neri of Mark Cermele Court in Lawrence opened The Vine & Branches in Pennington, she aimed to create an environment where locals of any spiritual background could find what they were looking for.

Ms. Neri opened The Vine & Branches in April 2000 after she noticed the lack of religious, spiritual, interfaith products for people to integrate into their everyday lives. Lawrence's Carrie Pabreza, Ms. Neri's sister, works full-time at the shop.

It's not as easy as you would think,

said Ms. Neri.

People are picky about religion. It's hard to have different things in one store, so that it's not exclusively Catholic. But that's what I wanted, so I did it anyway. We all have a need for spirituality in our lives. That makes it more fun and interesting.

The Vine & Branches offers a venue for local artists to display their work and they take advantage of the opportunity. The wide variety of offerings in the store, including jewelry, greeting cards, decorative pillows and artwork, allows space for a range of talents.

Laura Desai, a Hopewell Township resident, is the creative mind behind the jewelry display in the store.

Ms. Desai taught herself to make jewelry, and her work is on display in stores in Lawrenceville, Hightstown, Cape May and Montgomery.

My business is called LD designs,

said Ms. Desai.

It's not all and only religious jewelry. I use sterling silver and gold jewelry.

Ms. Desai is a teacher and the leader of the Youth Group at St. James Church. For more information about her creations, e-mail lddesigns5@aol.com.

It's hard to find really cute, original religious bracelets,

said Ms. Neri.

People like to buy from locals because they like to support local artists. Laura does really original work. People have a concept of what a rosary bead is. They don't imagine that it can be cute, young, sterling silver and fun to wear.

One of the more spiritual products the store offers is Anya Natural products, including creams, face lift oils, body and facial scrubs, body salts, aroma therapy and more. Anne Rudolph and her friend Yaniza Castillo make the products in Ms. Rudolph's basement in Pennington.

I became interested in natural products for my own personal health reasons,

said Ms. Rudolph.

I wanted products that I could trust and that would be beneficial to me. Once you get used to natural odors and textures your body responds so positively that you don't want to use perfumes anymore. It's about everything we put into our bodies and how it affects us.

Source by zwire.com

A Brief History in Egyptian Religious Jewelry

Jewelry is a broad term that describes any ornamental adornment on the body. It includes toe rings to tiaras and everything in between. Jewelry has been used in every culture throughout history and in many different ways. While in our culture today jewelry serves mostly an aesthetic purpose, jewelry can serve other functions as well.



Jewelry is used to represent social or official rank, age, marital status, and tribal affinity. In addition, jewelry serves as emblems of religious, social, and political affiliation. In fact, one of the very first uses of jewelry was to show religious affiliation. The following are the main cultures that began the use of religious jewelry and the common symbols and uses of their jewelry.

Egyptian Religious Jewelry

Religious jewelry in Ancient Egypt was very symbolic. Some common symbols in Ancient Egyptian religious jewelry include the scarab (beetle), lotus, serpent, falcon, and the eye. The scarab is a symbol for good luck and resurrection while the “Eye of the Horus” represents healing. A common symbol of the time called the “Ankh” is meant to represent eternal life. Religious jewelry was extravagant, consisting of gold and semi-precious stones and were worn by men and women alike.

When the Roman Era arrived, Egyptian religious jewelry was made of cheaper materials and more Christian symbols were used. When Islam arrived in Egypt men were forbidden to wear gold jewelry. At this time silver jewelry became more popular in religious jewelry in Egypt. Religious jewelry is still widely used in Egypt, but does not have the same extravagance as the Ancient Egyptian religious jewelry.

Source: Harris Michael Jewelry

St. Jude Thaddeus Medals

Saint Jude is a Christian saint and one of the twelve apostles of Jesus. His other names are Jude Thaddaeus and Jude Lebbeus. St. Jude is also known as Saint Thaddeus, alternatively spelled "Thaddæus" or "Thaddaeus" in different versions of the Bible, and Saint Matfiy in Russian Orthodox tradition (along with Saint Jude). He should not be confused with Judas Iscariot, yet another apostle, who betrayed Jesus and later committed suicide.



St. Jude was a brother of Saint James the Less, and a relative of Jesus. Mark 6:3 states about Jesus: "Isn't this the carpenter? Isn't this Mary's son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren't his sisters here with us?" (New International Version). In the Acts of Thomas, one of the New Testament apocrypha, written in Syria in the early 3rd century, he was identified with Jude Thomas, which is the full name of the apostle Thomas according to Syrian tradition...

Park Meadows Jewelry store returns to Colorado

James Avery, onetime CU instructor, opens Park Meadows store...

James Avery was teaching industrial design at the University of Colorado at Boulder in 1951 when he created his first piece of jewelry. Now he's back in the state with the opening today of his first Colorado jewelry store, at Park Meadows mall. James Avery stores still have a large supply of religious jewelry, with plenty of crosses, fish, doves and butterflies. Increasingly over the years, though, the company has widened its focus to include themes from nature and other cultures, said Howell Rideout, the company's vice president for marketing and development.

All the creating and crafting of the products is done by company employees, and the business even makes the distressed-wood cabinets and doors that go in the jewelry stores. The pieces, crafted in silver or gold, range from $20 to $2,000.

The whole idea is not to be 'in your face' with the products, but more of an elegant approach, like a living room,

Rideout said of the stores.

The mall, which already has seven higher-end jewelry retailers, believes there's also room for Paul Avery, said retail marketing manager Stephanie Jackson.

They have a a very good reputation, and they're a very well-known brand name in the West,

she said.

Also, the company comes to town with a ready-made Colorado customer base of about 14,000 who buy from Avery's catalogs and Web site.

Avery's company is mostly owned by the family, said son and company President Chris Avery, who left an anesthesiology practice 13 years ago to help the company formulate a succession plan.

It was only supposed to be temporary, three or four years at the most,

he said.

But by then, I was immersed in the business. And then we had new goals, so I wanted to see if we could achieve those.

His brother Paul, who trained in horticulture, is an executive vice president at the company, and their dad still is chairman and chief executive officer.

And he still designs and creates the jewelry he passionately believes in...

Source by Rocky Mountain News