Happy Valentine’s Day! Hopefully all of us who are lucky enough to have loved ones, let them know all year round that we care about them. But I still think it’s nice to have a day that is singled out for love. There’s so much hate in the world, let’s take some time to celebrate love of all kinds.
Another reason I love Valentine’s Day is that I love hearts. I love the shape, the red color, everything about it. I have a pretty big collection of all things heart shaped.
Jeff has given me tons of heart-shaped things: pillows, a rug to wipe your feet on when you come in the front door, earrings and necklaces. I’ve also bought a lot of heart-shaped stuff myself over the years.
But today I want to talk about another symbol, the hamsa. The hamsa (pronounced with a guttural “ch” or “kh” sound) is a symbol from the Middle East and North Africa that is believed to have had its first appearances in cultures based in Mesopotamia (Iraq) and Carthage (Tunisia).
The hamsa is the shape of an open right hand, a universal symbol primarily of protection: protection from the evil eye, protection from enemies, protection in general. It is used primarily by Muslims (the Hand of Fatimah, the daughter of the prophet Mohammed) and Jews (the Hand of Miriam, the sister of Moses), and by Christians as well (the Hand of Mary). It also refers to the outstretched hand of God leading the Israelites out of bondage in Egypt as well as other mentions of God reaching down from the heavens in the Five Books of Moses. It is related to the idea that God exists in everything. And it is related to the Egyptian sky god, Horus, and some hamsas include the eye of Horus in the middle of the palm.
The hand has also been described as a fertility symbol to boost pregnancy and lactation and as a symbol of marriage as a bond that together protects both the man and woman. It is also a symbol of good luck.
The word “hamsa” is related to the number 5 (referring to the 5 fingers); khamsah in Arabic and hamesh in Hebrew.
Recently, I was given two new pieces of jewelry with the hamsa.
The sterling silver necklace with the filigree hamsa amulet was a gift from my good friends Sybille and Sahnoune who bought it for me in Algeria this past fall when they went back to visit Sahnoune’s family in Algiers. The hamsa is an important symbol in Algeria, and it even appears in the Seal of Algeria, the first one below from the 1970s and the second one with a more stylized and symbolic hand adopted in late 1976.
I love the delicate craftsmanship of the hamsa itself as well as the pretty necklace.
Last week, I received a gift from Nancy Davis, the jewelry designer of the Peace & Love collection that is sold on Evine, the shopping network. It is a charming silver tone bracelet with faux diamonds, a slide closure, and the outline of the hand. I was so surprised to receive the gift to thank me for developing a few posts and giveaways via our Fashion Flash group to spread the word about Nancy Davis’ jewelry that helps support her philanthropic work in Los Angeles. I was also surprised to see the hamsa as the centerpiece of the bracelet. Perfect choice for me!
Were you familiar with the hamsa? Do you own any hamsa jewelry yourself?
Great post. Happy Valentine’s Day!
…Jeff
Thank you, J! <3 muah!
“Happy 💝💐 Valentine’s Day” this was a really nice post Allison. So so informative. I love the Hamsa, I have several. I love the bracelet, so pretty and different. The “Hamsa” has so many meanings for so many people. Thank you for explaining it in such detail. I to love ❤️ hearts ♥️ as Valentine’s Day is my wedding anniversary 47 years today!!! Have a really nice day………🙋🏻
OMG, DiEtta, Happy Anniversary to you and your husband!<3 How wonderful to be married on Valentine's day! I hope you both have a very special day xoxo And thank you! Jeff and I are going to go out for an Indian dinner, and then sit down and make plans for our Amsterdam trip. I am glad to hear that you are a fan of the hamsa too. I'd love to see them some day. All the best for zillions more anniversaries and Vdays!
I absolutely LOVE this post, Allison! This is so timely, I was literally looking at Hamsa necklaces and bracelets yesterday afternoon! Happy Valentine’s Day!
Wow, that is a coincidence, Helen! I hope you find one that you love. And Happy Valentine’s Day to you and your husband too!
I never knew how to pronounce Hamsa before. I was brought one back from someone who went to Israel. Mine is really delicate looking. I didn’t realize that the Peace & Love bracelet was a Hamsa. What a great gift. And Jeff has good taste in heart items.
I got my first hamsa from the gift shop at my synagogue when I was a teen, but it wasn’t real gold that the color changed on it. I never knew back then what it was called, but I had a vague idea of the significance. I think it’s so cool that three major religions have used it across the centuries.
That is so cool! I’ve seen people who have this as a tattoo.
Thanks for this wonderful post. My son travels to Israel on business every couple of months (he works for the government after retiring from the AF). He sent me a large Hamsa that hangs on the glass door of my entertainment center. It is stunning and I love it.
Wow, how interesting that your son goes to Israel so often! Is he in the IT business? That’s a long trip to make every month. That’s so cool that he brought you a big decorative Hamsa. I am trying to imagine it in my mind! Doing the background research for this I saw so many colored ones that I had never seen before.
Thank you for explaining the Hamsa, I didn’t know the origin. Your jewelry is very pretty.
Yes, I have heard of the Hamsa symbol but didn’t realize that so many different religions and cultures have it as a symbol. Thanks for sharing your knowledge and both pieces you have are beautiful.
I love the red teapot, it’s so cute!
Oh, I love that hamsa design! It’s such a beautiful symbol!