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These Angel Figures are about 13 inches tall. She is wearing a velour blue and green long-sleeved dress with red trim at the hem and a white lace collar. Underneath, her body is a cone-shaped piece of Styrofoam that is covered with a white cloth. In her hands is a red cloth heart with colored sequins near the edge and a golden snowflake in the center. To help this angel fly through the Heavens she has 6-8 white feathers with 2 down feathers at the top. Her eyes are closed and she appears to be singing with great reverence. Perfect for any center piece or she could be hung using the gold lame cord. Select this link to view our Angel Figurines.
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.” They have always been a popular theme on Christmas cards and have an important role in manger scenes, where they hover over the stable. 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 Figurines.
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. Angels accompany street processions re-enacting the journey to Bethlehem in Latin America and the Philippines. 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. They also serve as guardians of individuals and nations. 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. These religions recognize an order of beings in which angels rank above man but under god. 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. Select this link to view our Christmas Ornaments.
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. 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 Angel Gifts.