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Gold Rosaries

March 24th, 2010

Have you ever seen a golden rosary? They are not items you see every day, but they are very striking and they can be found if you look around. A rosary is a symbol of your faith, a method of doing atonement and even a way of remembering who gave you your faith.

Because of the symbolic character of a rosary, it does not matter at all what it is made from. However, if you like beautiful things, a golden rosary could be a luxury item for you, even though there is more risk of it being stolen.

You certainly would not want to have it stolen of course, but a valuable rosary is a beautiful thing to possess, like a golden business card case or an luxurious fountain pen. It is not so much that it demonstrates that you can afford one, it is more that it shows that it is an important item to you. Something of significance. If you like writing, you want a decent pen, if you want to give a good impression, you can have a good business card case and if you love God, you can have a good-looking rosary.

However, you do not have to take it to church with you, if you are worried about being flash. You could only use it at home, if that made you feel more comfortable. After all, you are not buying a golden rosary to show off to the world’s populace, just to show your loyalty to yourself. The weight of a golden rosary seems to add solemnity to the proceedings, but that might be a private thing.

However, you do not necessarily have to buy a gold rosary for yourself. You might buy one for a child or godchild in order to show how much you hope that they will discover or uphold the faith.

You will have to go to a professional dealer who knows about gold rosaries. This is because if the beads are too heavy for the chain, the chain might not last long. The constant moving of the beads could either wear the gold chain thin too swiftly or just snap it.

That would be a real shame, because you might lose one or more of your beads too and the beads on a gold rosary would necessarily be quite classy too. Replacing one or more beads might be tricky or even impossible years down the line.

A gold rosary would probably become a family heirloom and be passed down for generations even hundreds of years. It would be a great incentive for a young person to contemplate the important things in life.

Your church could give you pointers about where to buy a gold rosary from someone that really knows what the proportions of the beads to the chain should be. They will also offer you different purities of gold, usually 9, 14 or 18 carat gold and the beads could be anything from glass to pearls.

If you do go in for a gold rosary, get the retailer to attest to the materials used in its manufacture and the various weights so that if you have a problem, you have proof to show the insurance company.

Owen Jones, the author of this article, writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with Clogau Welsh gold. If you have an interest in gold rings, please go to our website now at White Gold Claddagh Ring

categories: catholicism,belief,gold,spirituality,inspirational,happiness,humanities,relationships,motivation,grief,self help,family,unknown,other

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Facts About Chocolate’s Origins

March 15th, 2010

The Theobroma Cacao or ‘the food of the Gods’ is what we all know as the cocoa tree. It’s origin can be traced back to South America’s rain forests, particularly to Central America, although historians are still at variance over certain facts surrounding this tree.

It is suggested that the Mayans first grew the cacao tree in 300 AD, although others point to inadequate evidence that it was grown or at least harvested in around 3,000 BC. The Aztecs also used the cacao, but from about 1100 AD.

The chocolate (drink) that we all know today was called ‘xocoatl’. It was a very special beverage that was made out of cacao, chilies, anise seed, vanilla, corn meal and some other spices. It is said that only royalty were permitted to drink it and then only from golden chalices, which were to be used for the purpose only once.

The cacao tree is very sensitive to its environment and it most often grows in the shade of the rain forest canopy. If only for this reason alone, chocolate lovers should join forces with the environmentalists to save the rain forests so that the cacaos will continue to exist.

This tree is unusual because its fruits grow directly on its branches and trunk; midges cause the pollination of the flowers during the night time.

The cacao tree is very productive, but not very fruitful. It can have in the region of 10,000 blossoms, but only about 10 to 50 of those will mature into fruits or pods. This is thought to be because the cacao tree can adjust the number of blossoms that will mature according to its ability to handle the energy loss of bearing fruit or pods.

The cacao tree regulates itself in this way to preserve its health. Too many pods might exhaust its energy so much that it could not survive a viral or insect attack or too many ripe pods might snap off its branches.

The cocoa beans grow within the pod, the fruit of the blossom. Harvesters wait for the pod to ripen. They will then crack open the pods and take out the seeds, which are surrounded by a white pulp. This is thrown away these days, but it is thought that many years ago it was fermented into an alcoholic drink for ceremonial purposes. The beans are the source of chocolate, although there is lots to do yet..

The seeds are very bitter at this stage and it is for this reason that they will go through a procedure of fermentation for between three and seven days. This causes the seeds to go through chemical as well as physical changes. The result of this was used for the royal drink, the ‘xocoatl’.

However, to turn it into what we recognize as chocolate, the fermented beans have to go through quite a few more processes. Processes by the name of: drying, cleaning, roasting, grading, opening, separation, grinding and liquefying.

After liquefying, you have unadulterated chocolate in the form of chocolate liquor. This is sold to chocolate producers and the good ones make high-class chocolate from it and the bad ones adulterate it so much that it is scarcely chocolate any more.

Owen Jones, the author of this piece, writes on many topics, but is currently involved with Gourmet Chocolate Candy. If you have an interest in romantic gifts, please go over to our website now at Romantic Gifts: Ideas

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