If you are choosing a cross-stitched gift for someone special in your life, I think that an Angel may be a design to consider.

I have recently completed an Angels cross stitch project from the Patterns Patch club as a free download. This will be a gift for a neighbour who has been good to me, and I wanted to do something that showed my gratitude to her. I was wondering wonder why it is that Angels are so popular – in cross stitch and other arts.

Here are some essential facts:

1. It seems that many people believe that angels are guiding spirit beings who act as God’s messengers. Although the characteristics  of Angels and the tasks given to them vary across many traditions and religions, in Christianity, Judaism and Islam, they typically act as messengers from God. Other roles in religious traditions include acting as warrior or guard; the concept of a Guardian Angel is popular in modern Western culture.
2. A recent survey published in Time magazine revealed that 69 percent of Americans believe in Angels, and 46 percent of that group believe they have a personal Guardian Angel. Many people believe that Guardian Angels are spiritual beings that assist people here on Earth in various ways.
3. Angels are anthropomorphic - meaning ‘in the shape of men’ - winged forms intended to transmit the word of God to humankind. Angels personify divine will and are the messengers of God. Winged messengers appear in a number of religions as intermediaries between the spiritual and material worlds, but appear most often in Islamic, Jewish but most particularly the Christian faiths.
4. The word Angel comes from the Greek ‘aggelos’, meaning messenger. The concept of angels probably evolved from winged deities described in Egyptian, Sumerian and Semitic beliefs.
5. Symbols closely associated with angels in art include trumpets, harps, swords, sceptres and wands. Angels are usually portrayed as young men with wings and halos, representing their divinity. The representation of angels as Cupid-like young boys or babies, ‘putti’ did not occur until the period of the Renaissance.
If you are thinking of choosing an angel as a subject to cross stitch, you will find that they are a wonderfully inspiring subject. There are many wonderful images of angels that can be perfect to send a positive message as a gift to a friend. You can be sure of sending a message of friendship, love and hope that angels symbolize to your friends and family.
Have you stitched an Angel design as a gift? They do appear to bring pleasure to the recipient. Do share with us your ideas!
Happy stitching
Iona 

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 22nd, 2008 at 1:17 pm and is filed under The Rest. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.