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This Angel Ornament is about 5 inches tall. The angel is made of soft white cloth material. She has real feathered wings. Both wings have a wing feather and a down feather. The down feather gives it that full fluffy angelic look while the wing feather provides structure and support. She appears to be wearing a dress with just her cloth feet showing. The top half of the dress is made of a sparkling fuzzy white material that goes up and covers her head and the upper part of her arms and the same sparkling material is around the hem of the dress. In her hands she is holding a soft cloth heart that has a snowflake on it that is made of plastic beads. She is perfect for hanging on the tree or anywhere you would like the angel to watch over you. Select this link to view our Christmas Ornaments.
History of Angels.
Angels are literally messenger or emissaries of God and have played an important role in the Nativity and Christmas celebrations through the ages. They have long been symbols of Christmas in the form of ornaments, especially tree toppers. Christmas cookies are baked in angel shapes. In Lithuania the traditional wafer is termed “bread of angels.” The medieval mystic Henry Suso, in his sorrows, dreamt that angels came to comfort him, took him by the hand and led him in a dance while one sang “In Dolci Jubilo.” When he awoke he wrote the music down in the form of a carol, which became “Good Christian Men Rejoice.” Angels have been the subject of Christmas music in many lands, particularly in their role as annunciators of the birth of Jesus to the shepherds. From France came “Angels From the Realms of Glory,” from Moravia “Angels and Shepherds.” From England came “Angels We Have Heard on High,” “Hark the Herald Angels Sing,” and “While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks by Night.” American angel carols include “It Came Upon the Midnight Clear.” Select this link to view our Christmas Gifts.
Angels were used in Medieval dramas centering on the nativity, such as the 12th century “Play of Herod” which begins “When Herod and the other persons are ready, an Angel shall appear with a multitude of the heavenly host. He shall announce salvation unto them while the rest keep silent.” They have also been included in Christmas movies, such as “The Bishops Wife,” where an angel rescues a troubled marriage and in “It’s a Wonderful Life,” where an angel saves a good but desperate man from suicide. Countless girls and boys have been dressed in white robes for their part in the seasonal dramas staged by churches and schools. In Europe angels are part of the Star Boy groups, which go from door to door. Select this link to view our Angel Ornaments.
According to many religions an angel is a spiritual being created by God. According to religious tradition, angels live in heaven and act as God’s servants and as messengers between God and man. Angels traditionally are pictured as have a human body and wings. Poets and artists have portrayed angels as symbols of innocence or virtue. Many religions have teachings about angels or similar beings. In some primitive religions, legends tell of bright, powerful spirits that appear in dreams and visions and protect people or tribes. In Hinduism and Buddhism many major gods are accompanied by a band or court of spiritual beings. Judaism, Christianity and Islam developed the most elaborate doctrines about angels. God is all powerful and man is sometimes portrayed as in God’s image. In some traditions, Satan and other fallen angels rebel against this order. The concept of angels with a human body and wings began in the Hebrew Bible or Old Testament and in Christianity. Later tradition refers to many archangels, or angels of higher rank, including Saint Michael. Christian doctrine regarding angels reached full development during the AD 1100’s and 1200’s, especially in the teachings of Saint Thomas Aquinas. He taught that countless numbers of angels existed and that they were immortal. According to Aquinas, angels knew everything except what depended on human choice and what only God knew. The concept of angels strongly influenced Paradise Lost by John Milton. It includes a version of Satan’s fall and Adam and Eve’s expulsion from paradise. The Islamic belief in angels resembles that of Judaism and Christianity. These three faiths place angels near God and give special duties to some. Select this link to view our Unique Angel Gifts.