Posts Tagged ‘history’

The Tradition Of Giving Engagement Rings

Engagement rings are a traditional gift bestowed upon a woman when an offer of marriage is proposed. It can be presented to the intended bride during the proposal ceremony, or after the proposal has been offered and accepted. In some cultures, both the man and the woman wear a ring, whereas in North America and parts of Europe, it is typically only the woman who receives and wears the gift.

During the Roman era, a truth ring was offered to a maiden when requesting a permanent union. However, the Egyptians are responsible for wearing tokens of love on the left ring finger. The belief was that the body contained a vein, known as vena amoris or the vein of love, which was linked directly to the heart from the tip of the third left finger. Many cultures still maintain this custom.

In some regions, however, the band is not worn on the left hand at all. The Ukraine tradition requires the band be worn on the right hand. Germany also follows the right hand wearing of the proposal ring, which remains until the marriage takes place. Once married, the ring is then worn on the left hand.

The Gimmel ring of the middle ages introduced the addition of gemstones to the band. Also referred to as a bond ring, members of the upper class began embellishing the Gimmel ring with precious stones such as rubies and sapphires. Such jewelled bands were reserved for the wealthy, since the commoner was unable to afford the rare stones.

In the earlier stages of a relationship, the man may offer the woman a promise ring as a prelude to an engagement. This signifies the enduring commitment to the relationship, and is a modern version of a faith ring. The faith band was forged of metal with two hands intertwined. It was a common betrothal band for those individuals without enough financial means to add gemstones to the engagement band.

The significance of a band with neither a beginning or end, represents endless love and eternal devotion. The custom has maintained popularity since the latter 1800’s. Adding a rarity like diamonds was a practice only the very wealthy could afford. This changed dramatically in 1870, when an abundance of diamonds was discovered in South Africa by De Beers Consolidated Mines. In order to increase sales of the gems, the company started an aggressive advertising campaign, promoting diamonds as a symbol of everlasting commitment.

The increased availability of diamonds made the stone a much more affordable enhancement for engagement rings. In the 1930’s, it became the social standard for betrothal bands to contain at least one diamond. However, the size and quality of the diamond was reflected in the price, which prompted De Beers to encourage men to spend at least 3 months worth of wages on the ring. The advertising was so successful that this model for spending is still in use today.

While many wedding traditions have changed, the introduction of engagement rings has endured. It captures both the romantic essence of human nature as well as the symbolic endurance of such a commitment. Therefore, it continues to be a common practice when proposing marriage and serves to announce plans to wed.

This jewellery store offers a variety of beautiful diamond rings Toronto. Don’t miss out in finding the best engagement ring Toronto for that special someone.

Share and Enjoy:
  • Digg
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • NewsVine
  • Reddit
  • StumbleUpon
  • Google Bookmarks
  • Yahoo! Buzz
  • Twitter
  • Technorati
  • Live
  • LinkedIn
  • MySpace

Observances in Many Cultures for Mothers’ Day

Mother’s Days in many countries are major gift-giving occasions, & there can be a lot of pressure to formulate the absolute perfect gift. Jewelry is always a safe bet, & there are many options of special mother’s rings and other mother’s jewelry available, which is customized with the birthstone of each child.

The occasions of the present- day U.S. & many other countries date back to an essay penned by Julia Ward Howe in the 1870s, and later when Anna Jarvis promoted setting an official celebration in the early 1900s. The earliest origins of the modern Mothers’ Day, however, may lie in the society of the ancient Greeks. The Greeks held a festival in those days that functioned to honor mother goddesses, and human mothers by extension, every year around the winter to spring equinox. After the Romans took power later on, they continued this tradition.

The Mothers Day holiday is quite recognizable to most people as an occasion of commemorating the love & appreciation felt for mommies everywhere. More and more frequently this also means praising the people in our lives who have been like mothers to us too. Mothers Day is commemorated at various times between cultures, and this happens for number of reasons; here are some quick facts about the observance of Mother’s Day at home and abroad!

In the United Kingdom, the date on which Mothers Day is recognized each year is related to the timing of Lent, whereas Canada & the United States always celebrate the 2nd Sunday of May. The second Sunday of May is, in fact, the choice of eighty-two several countries on six continents– this is every continent with a native population. Overall, May is by far the most popular month in which to set Mother’s Day, with 104 countries choosing to celebrate sometime during the fifth month.

In other nations such as Bulgaria & Ukraine, Mother’s Day festivities take place on March 8th to coincide with the observance of International Women’s Day. Still other places, including Egypt, observe Mothers’ Day on March 21, the vernal equinox; this may just be a throwback to the original festivities so many centuries ago. In the same manner, other days are frequently chosen to coincide with the local culture’s established occasions of mothers, much like many other well known holidays.

Mother’s Day is fast approaching, and Debebians.com has just the right hand stamped mothers jewelry to wow the moms in your life! Delight her this year with beautiful family jewelry pendants from this huge online store!

Share and Enjoy:
  • Digg
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • NewsVine
  • Reddit
  • StumbleUpon
  • Google Bookmarks
  • Yahoo! Buzz
  • Twitter
  • Technorati
  • Live
  • LinkedIn
  • MySpace

Mother’s Day is Observed Globally

In the United Kingdom, the date on which Mothers Day is famed each year is related to the timing of Lent, whereas Canada and the U . S . always celebrate the second Sunday of May. The second Sunday of May is, in fact, the choice of 82 several countries on 6 continents– this is every continent with a native population. Overall, May is by far the most popular month in which to set Mother’s Day, with 104 countries choosing to celebrate sometime during the fifth month.

In other nations such as Bulgaria and Ukraine, Mother’s Day celebrations take place on March 8th to coincide with the observance of International Women’s Day. Still other locations, including Egypt, observe Mothers’ Day on March 21, the spring equinox; this may just be a throwback to the original festivities so many centuries ago. In the same way, other days are frequently picked to coincide with the local culture’s established festivities of mothers, much like many other well known holidays.

The Mother’s Day holiday is quite familiar to most people as an occasion of commemorating the love and appreciation felt for mommies everywhere. More & more typically this also means celebrating the people in our lives who have been like mothers to us as well. Mother’s Day is celebrated at various times between cultures, and this happens for number of reasons; here are some quick facts about the observance of Mothers Day at home and abroad!

The festivities of the present- day U.S. & many other countries date back to an essay penned by Julia Ward Hose in the 1870s, & later when Anna Jarvis promoted setting an official celebration in the early 1900s. The earliest origins of the modern Mothers Day, however, may lie in the society of the ancient Greeks. The Greeks held a festival in those days that functioned to honor mother goddesses, and human mothers by extension, every year around the vernal equinox. After the Romans took power later on, they continued this tradition.

Mother’s Days in many countries are considerable gift-giving occasions, & there can be a lot of pressure to come up with the definite perfect gift. Jewelry is always a safe bet, & there are many options of special mother’s rings and other mother’s jewelry available, which is customized with the birthstone of each child.

Mother’s Day is fast approaching, and Debebians.com has just the right hand stamped mothers jewelry to wow the moms in your life! Delight her this year with beautiful mothers jewelry pendant from this huge online store!

Share and Enjoy:
  • Digg
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • NewsVine
  • Reddit
  • StumbleUpon
  • Google Bookmarks
  • Yahoo! Buzz
  • Twitter
  • Technorati
  • Live
  • LinkedIn
  • MySpace

A Compact History Of Judaism

It has been worked out that about 80% of the world’s population have faith in in one religion or another (and there are lots of them), but around 70% of those are adherents to the big four. The four biggest religions are: Christianity, Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism. Judaism is the forerunner of both Islam and Christianity.

The Hebrew Bible recounts the history of the world and the story of the passage of the people from creation, through the flood to the arrival in the Promised Land, or from Mesopotamia to Canaan, led by Abraham.

The descendants of Abraham and his people were enslaved by the Egyptians and did not manage to escape until Moses led them out of captivity. During this journey, Moses was given the Ten Commandments from God and they went on to be the bedrock of Jewish law and custom although there is no doubt that the Jewish way of life has developed from this period in the Tenth Century before Christ.

The sacred writings of the Hebrew Bible or Masorah are divided into twenty-four books. However, the same texts are divided up into thirty-nine books in the Chirtian Bible’s Old Testament. The Torah or The Law was being composed at this time but it was amended and updated between the Tenth and Fifth Centuries before Christ.

In addition to the Hebrew scriptures, there is a rich tradition of ancient oral commentary known as the Talmud, which is a colossal compilation of the Oral Law. The Talmud is the traditional authority for Orthodox Jews.

Judaism is the most ancient monotheistic religion known to the West. Jews believed in one God while all of the known world believed in pantheism or several gods like the Ancient Greeks. The name of God in the Jewish language is Yahweh and they believe that Yahweh agreed a covenant with His people to take care of them for ever so long as they were loyal solely to him.

In the Jewish faith, sin is the unashamed disrespect of God’s will and that is punishable by God in a similar fashion to the Buddhist belief in karma.. The objective of following God’s Law is being welcomed into His Kingdom.

Jews worship in synagogues in congregations led by Rabbis who are considered Teachers or Masters (as in the old style of calling teachers, ‘masters’) rather than as monks or vicars. The Jewish Sabbath is not the Sunday as in Christianity, but is observed from sunset Friday until sunset Saturday night.

The most significant holidays or holy days in the Jewish calendar are: Rosh Hashanah (New Year); Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement); Hanukah (Festival of Lights) and Pesach (Passover). The Jewish nation does not celebrate Christmas because they believe that the Son of God is still yet to be born. They see Jesus as a prophet in the same manner as the Muslims do.

There are three main branches of contemporary Judaism which are: Orthodox Judaism; Reform Judaism and Conservative Judaism. Some of these branches of Judaism are more prevalent in some countries than others.

Owen Jones, the writer of this piece writes on many subjects but is at present concerned with Easter.If you would like to read more, please go over to our web site entitled Celebrating Easter

Share and Enjoy:
  • Digg
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • NewsVine
  • Reddit
  • StumbleUpon
  • Google Bookmarks
  • Yahoo! Buzz
  • Twitter
  • Technorati
  • Live
  • LinkedIn
  • MySpace

Tips For Archery Fishing

Archery fishing is also called bow fishing and it is as ancient as the bow and arrow themselves. We in the West tend to think that only poorer tribesmen in Third World countries go bow fishing, but that is not quite true.

These days the hunting of mammals is stringently controlled and so some people who like to hunt with a bow will switch to bow fishing if the animals that they like to pursue, say deer, are out of season. Some other people, who would not hunt a deer or bear are quite happy to kill fish in this fashion.

Bow fishing is a skillful sport, but the equipment need not necessarily be hi-tech. The fact is that you can use whatever bow you have or you can just make one. It does not have to be strong, because the quarry is seldom more than ten feet away. You categorically do not need a 100 lbf longbow to kill a trout.

Having said that, any bow used for fishing will need to be adapted slightly – you will need to attach a reel to it, but it does not have to be anything fancy. There are three principal types of reel for use in bow fishing: hand-wrap, spincast and retriever and the line is usually braided nylon of approximately eighty pounds although you might require six hundred pound breaking strain line for alligators or sharks.

It is worth checking out the regulations with regard to bow fishing in your country or state, because sometimes bow fishermen have to be licensed and sometimes getting that license involves having been on a safety course.

Some regions will even have by-laws regarding the kind of equipment you can use in bow fishing and of course, some fish have seasonal restrictions.

Bow fishing is a mixture of fishing and hunting, so you could have to learn some new skills like tying knots for example. You will need to be able to tie the line to the reel and the arrow and those knots will need to be able to put up with the tremendous acceleration that an arrow leaving a bow goes through without failing.

The bow may not be different much from a standard bow, but the arrows certainly do. Arrows for bow fishing are usually a lot heavier that air-flight arrows. They also have barbed tips to stop the fish escaping or just slipping off when you reel it in. The arrows do not have fletching either because flights are apt to deflect the true course of the arrow in water – the reverse of in the air.

There are three main tactics used in bow fishing: 1] you can put down ground bait and lie in wait. – an over hanging branch or high rock is good for this; 2] you can float down stream in a dinghy while sitting or standing in the prow; 3] you can wander into the stream like a salmon fisherman.

Compensating for the refraction of the water is the most difficult ability to learn and that means knowing the water well as well.

Owen Jones, the author of this article writes on several subjects, but is currently concerned with archery recurve bows. If you would like to know more or for special deals, please go to our website at Kids Archery Set.

Share and Enjoy:
  • Digg
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • NewsVine
  • Reddit
  • StumbleUpon
  • Google Bookmarks
  • Yahoo! Buzz
  • Twitter
  • Technorati
  • Live
  • LinkedIn
  • MySpace