(I can't think of a good title, and I don't know why the font isn't formatting right. sorry)
Love, Loyalty, and Friendship. Isn’t that what any good relationship should consist of?
Wildwood/ Cape May, NJ summer 2005
Despite my being sick, we were having a great time in Wildwood, duct taping cheerios boxes to the refrigerator in the “Pier 666”, and bouncing back and forth between hotel, beach, boardwalk, and the local Wawa. Toward the end of our trip, Danielle, Kevin, Strauss, Dan, and I decided to drive over the bridge to go on a whale/dolphin-watching cruise, and then check out the shops and whatever else we could find to do in Cape May.
After the dolphin watching was over, we drove further into town and happened upon a small shopping center with several shops selling random trinkets and souvenirs. In one shop, there was an array of sterling silver jewelry on display, and I was in the market for a new ring. Amongst the inventory, I found two rings that I liked, one, a heart with small grayish, greenish stones, and the other, a plain, silver Claddagh ring. Though I didn’t really know the meaning or significance of a Claddagh ring, I knew it had something to do with the Irish, I liked it, it fit, and I am Irish – a fact that I felt entitled me to wear the ring, even though by looking at me you probably wouldn’t know that I am partially Irish. So I purchased both rings, and wore them for the next two years. After leaving Wildwood with my friends, it occurred to me at some point that maybe I should do some research, and figure out exactly what this ring on my finger meant.
Home/Ireland summer 2005/17th century
From what I gathered, there are a few different legends about the origins of the Claddagh symbol. The most common one that I found is about a man named Richard Joyce from the Irish village of Claddagh. Supposedly, he created this symbol in the 17th century while working with a goldsmith in the Mediterranean after being kidnapped and sold by pirates on a voyage to the Caribbean. It is said that he returned to Ireland in 1689, and it turns out that the woman whom Joyce was courting before the trip was still waiting faithfully for the return of her true love. At this point, Joyce gave her the ring as a symbol of their love: The hands representing their friendship, the crown to symbolize their loyalty and lasting fidelity, and the heart signifying their eternal love for each other. Since the 17th century, the Claddagh has come to be a symbol of love, loyalty, friendship, and fidelity worldwide.
The next thing I needed to figure out was how to wear the ring, since the placement of it indicates different levels of involvement. To wear the ring on the right hand with the top of the crown and heart facing toward the fingertips means that the wearer is still considering love. This is more a symbol of friendship or love that it still blooming, and not quite to the next level yet. When worn on the right hand with the top of the crown and heart facing toward the wrist, this signifies that the wearer’s heart is taken. Someone who is engaged would wear a Claddagh ring this way. Finally, if worn on the left hand with the top of the crown and heart facing inward, toward the wrist, this means that the wearer is married. Traditionally, both men and women wear the Claddagh ring as their wedding ring to represent their love and devotion to each other.
“Okay, that’s a cute story. I can see that”, I thought. So I stuck the ring on my right hand, crown and heart facing out toward my fingertips, and work it for the next 2 years.
New Haven, CT November 2007
It was the weekend before Thanksgiving, and Dan and I were on our way up to New Haven. My brother goes to school up there, so we were going up to watch him play rugby, and just enjoy a nice, relaxing weekend away. In addition to the game, we had also planned to do some shopping and visit a few museums in downtown New Haven, and then my brother was going to come back home with us for his Thanksgiving break.
When we finally got to our hotel after hours of sitting in traffic, Dan and I got settled and then decided to head into town to see what we could find. After finding our way to the downtown area, walking around in various stores for a while, and eating a nice dinner, we went back to the hotel to rest up so we could get up early for the game the next morning.
The next morning we got up at a time that felt way too early thanks to the uncomfortable sprits of sleep we were able to salvage from the lovely hotel bed. When I asked my brother the day before the name of the rugby field and how to get there, his reply was, “ I don’t know, I just get on the bus with the rest of the team. Look at the website. They have a map on there.” This is a typical response from my brother. Though he is extremely intelligent, his common sense skills and alertness to the world around him is often lacking, to say the least. Needless to say, even with the picture of a map on the website which shows a big red rectangle as the field, covering the already blurry street names in a place I have never been to before, Dan and I got lost and did not make it in time to see my brother’s game. Rather than wasting the day being upset, we decided to move on to the other things we had planned to do in New Haven. After some more shopping, going to the Peabody Museum, and eating lunch, we drove back toward my brother’s dorm, parked in a parking garage, and went into some nearby shops while waiting for my brother to get back.
After waiting about an hour and a half, my brother finally called to say that he was on his way back to his dorm. Upon hearing this, Dan and I went back toward the car to wait. Well, after waiting for what felt like two hours, I called my brother to find out what was going on. As it turns out, he didn’t think to pack ahead of time to come home for a week anyway, so even though he still wasn’t back yet, I found out that he wasn’t ready to go anyway (Dan and I had been ready to leave for an hour already). Although I should have anticipated this from my brother, I didn’t, and now Dan was cranky because he was tired of waiting and tired in general from not sleeping well the night before. This, in turn, started an argument, and then I was upset and cranky too. We didn’t speak for a while, and then we both just got over it and decided to walk to the dorms in hopes of speeding up the packing process.
It was at this point that we found the small Irish shop across the street from the parking garage. I had stopped wearing my Claddagh ring from Cape May a while before, and Dan kept saying that he wanted to buy me a new one. When we saw the shop, we went in to see if there was anything we liked (and because we needed to waste some time).
There it was in the showcase. A pretty Claddagh ring that was exactly what I wanted. Sterling silver with an emerald colored stone for the heart and decorative diamond-y looking stones on the sides of the hands. It was prefect, and it fit. Within minutes I had spotted it, tried it on, it was purchased, and soon after being placed in the bag, it was on my ring finger. Now we were both happy. Me, because I had the ring I wanted, him because I was happy and because he was finally able to get me the perfect Claddagh ring. Even better, by this time my brother was just about ready to go, and we just had to meet him at his dorm to help carry his things up the street to my car. Shortly thereafter, we were back in traffic again, on our way back home to New Jersey.
Home November 2008
Looking back on the time that has passed from Wildwood in 2005 to today, it’s funny how much some things have changed, but others have stayed the same. The other couple that Dan and I went to Wildwood with are no longer together, and we see them only occasionally whereas back in 2005, it was almost everyday. Strauss is still around, but he is a completely different person now than he was back then. Dan and I are still together, though. Our relationship has changed, had its ups and downs, but so far, we have endured them all. At this point we are pushing forward, and who knows, maybe some day I will wear the ring with the crown and heart pointed toward my wrist instead of my fingertips.
The significance of the Claddagh ring goes deeper than just a nice gift. Symbolically, it makes lots of sense. Love, loyalty, and friendship. That’s fitting. We are each other’s best friend, and we certainly have love and loyalty between us. Even when we fight, it’s still there.
Dan and I both also come from partially Irish backgrounds. Although my family doesn’t really hold any Irish traditions or really display the heritage, it is there. Dan’s family is much more into their Irish heritage, and I feel that this is kind of a link between us. It’s nice to have a link to your heritage. Not only is my ring a link to our Irish heritage, but it is also a constant reminder of our relationship and the years we have been together.
Though I didn’t really know the significance of the Claddagh ring when I first bought it three and a half years ago, it turns out that it has meant a lot more to me than I was ever truly conscious of before sitting down thinking about it to write this essay. It is a symbol of the past, present, and future. Love, loyalty, and friendship. This little ring represents ideas far greater than one may realize upon looking at it, whether they knew the meaning or not.
Love, loyalty, and friendship. What more could you need?
No comments:
Post a Comment