Buy a St James Cross for a friend online
Now it is possible to buy a jewellery gift for a friend traveling the Way of St. James . . El Camino de Santiago de Compostela, across southern France and Northern Spain from our Good Luck Gifts shop. The 1,000-year-old pilgrimage to the shrine of St. James in the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela is known as the Way of St. James (El Camino de Santiago - in Spanish). Some 250,000 pilgrims travel to the city each year from all over Europe and other parts of the world in order to find inspiration and/or deeper spiritual understanding. The city of Santiago de Compostela is the capital of the autonomous community of Galicia, in northern Spain, and the city's Cathedral is the final destination of this medieval pilgrimage route, the Way of St. James. In 1985 the city's Old Town was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Santiago is the local Galician translation of the Latin 'Sanctu Iacobu' (Saint James). Santiago de Compestela is a pan-European place of peregrination, second only to Rome and Jerusalem. In 2010, over 272,000 pilgrims completed the final 100 km walk to Santiago and qualified for the coveted 'Compostela' or certificate. The Way of St. James criss-crosses Western Europe, arriving at Santiago through Northern Spain. It is generally regarded as a journey of the body, mind and spirit. More than just a simple walk, the Camino is special because of the fellow pilgrims, the stories they share and the challenges people overcome. Modern pilgrims choose to do the Camino for personal, spiritual and/or religious reasons - or simply to take time out from their busy, modern lives. For many, the walk is to find inspiration - improving their outlook on life, bringing them into closer contact with nature and expanding their cultural horizons through contact with other pilgrims. Everyone experiences the journey in a different way. Symbols and gifts for the Spanish Camino: Some pilgrims identify themselves by carrying a heavy cape, long stave, sandals and/or a felt hat turned up at front and bearing a scallop-shell emblem. (The scallop shell is said to date back to the Crusades against the Moorish invaders. The Lord of Pimentel was forced to swim across a river and when he emerged he was covered in scallop shells.) Many also carry with them a St James's Cross - believed to promote courage, strength and hope. Wish someone "good luck" and a "buen camino" (good walk) with one of our St. James Crosses.