Love of Ireland

I don't know what it is about your heritage that makes you proud. I've known all my life that I am Italian, Irish, Polish and some Greek, and I have always been proud of it. Well not of the Polish I have to admit. I hate the Polish in me.  But thats not what I was here to say. I, of course, am proud of my Italian heritage ( I still have family in Italy) but I also am proud of my Irish blood. The other day while going through a jewelry catalog, I came across a ring that originates in Ireland. Its called the Claddagh ring. The ring has two hands holding a heart with a crown on top. At first I was puzzled. What did that mean? After reading into it I found that the hands mean friendship, the heart means love and the crown is for loyalty. Legend has it that an Irish young man was captured and sold to a Moorish goldsmith who taught the young man every thing he knew. When, in 1689 King William negotiated the return of the slaves, the man returned to Ireland where he found his love waiting for him still, even over the long wait. As a token of his love and thankfulness, he gave her a ring he made, the hands for their friendship, the heart for their eternal love and the crown for their loyalty. They soon married and never separated. The ring is very popular in Ireland even now. People use it for engagement rings, purity rings and even wedding rings. The way you wear it also means something. If you wear it with the point of the heart towards you, then it means you are taken or romantically involved. If the point of the heart is  towards the tip of your finger then you are available and not with someone. When you wear the ring on your wedding finger, you are engaged or married. I thought it was very interesting and Irish, thus I looked into getting one for my purity ring.  I will proudly wear the Irish ring for a long time.