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Camino de Santiago Pilgrimage Trekker Package - The Camino de Santiago Pilgrimage Patch bears the Yellow Scalloped Shell with the Blood Red Cross of the Order of Santiago. This Ancient
Symbol is often found marking the Pilgrimage Trail Route. The
Scallop Shell depicted on our patches are often found washes up by the
ocean’s wave on the Atlantic shores in Galicia, Spain and has long been
the symbol of God’s hand guiding the pilgrims to Camino de Santiago
Compostela. Over the centuries the Scallop Shell has taken on mythical,
metaphorical and practical meanings and acts as a metaphor for the
pilgrimage. The grooves in the shell come together at a single point
representing the various routes pilgrims traveled eventually arriving at
a single destination, “The Tomb of Saint James”, located within the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia, Spain. Our patch has been left
clean without any advertising or wording to preserved the spiritual
essence of traveling The Way of Saint James. Many of our
customers who walk “The Way” also purchase our beautiful 3 x 5 inch
American Flag Patches and a dozen or more Camino Pilgrimage Patches for
their pilgrimage to share with those they become friends with along “The
Way” during their pilgrimage experience. I have been told our patches
are very popular in Europe with those walking the Camino de Santiago
Pilgrimage and have become collector items. For those who are interested
in the spiritual essence and beauty of walking "The Way" we would like
to suggest the movie, "The Way" Staring Martin Sheen and produced by
Emilio Estevez honoring the pilgrimage.
History of the Camino de Santiago Pilgrimage -
The Camino de Santiago Pilgrimage or The Way of St. James or St. James’ Way
as it is often known by its Spanish name the Camino de Santiago is the
pilgrimage to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia in
north western Spain where the Apostle Saint James the Great is said to
be laid to rest. The Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela is the ultimate
goal of the pilgrimage. The Way of Saint James has been one of the most
important Christian Pilgrimages since Medieval times and it has existed
for over 1,000 years. It is considered as one of three pilgrimages on
which all sins could be forgiven, the others being the Via Francigena to
Rome and the pilgrimage to Jerusalem. However there is not a single
route, there are many numbers of pilgrimage routes to Santiago de
Compostela. A few of the routes are considered to be the primary ones.
Santiago de Compostela is such an important pilgrimage destination as it
is considered the burial site of the Apostle James the Great (Saint
James). Legend states that Saint James’ remains were transported by boat
from Jerusalem to the Pyrenees Mountains of Northern Spain where they
were buried on the site of what is now the Cathedral of Santiago in city
of Santiago de Compostela. In the middle Ages the route was highly
traveled. Reformation and unrest in 16th Century Europe resulted in its
decline. In the early 1980’s only a few pilgrims per year arrived in
Santiago de Compostela. Since the late 1980’s “The Way” has attracted a
growing number of modern day pilgrims from all around the world. The
route was declared the First European Cultural Route by the Council of
Europe in October 1987 and inscribed as one of UNESCO’s World Heritage
Sites in 1993. The earliest records of visits paid to the shrine
dedicated to Saint James at Santiago de Compostela date from the 8th
Century in the times of the Kingdom of Asturias. This was the most
renowned medieval pilgrimage and the custom of those who carried back
with them from Galicia a Scallop Shells as proof of their journey
gradually extended to other forms of pilgrimage. From across France and
Spain the pilgrimage route led from shrine to shrine just as a Caravan
route leads from Oasis to Oasis. The pilgrimage as penance; Once a
system of penance had been established by the Church, part of the
rituals of confession and absolution, pilgrimages were established as
adequate punishments assessed for certain crimes. The Catholic
Encyclopedia noted: “In the registers of the Inquisition at Carcasson”
we found the four following places noted as being the centre of the
greater pilgrimages to be imposed as penances for the graver crimes, the
tomb of the Apostles in Rome, the Shrine of St. James at Santiago de
Compostela, Spain and St. Thomas’s body at Canterbury, England and the
relics of the Three Kings at Cologne, Germany.” Pre-Christian History of
the route prior to its existence as a Catholic Pilgrimage, the route is
believed to also have had significance for the Ancient Pagan peoples of
the Iberian Peninsula, among them the Celts and later the Romans who
conquered Spain. The site of Santiago de Compostela itself may have been
perhaps a Roman Shrine. To this day many of the pilgrims continue on
from Santiago de Compostela to the Atlantic coast of Galicia to finish
their pilgrimage at Spain’s western most point Cape Finisterre
(Galician, Fisterra). Though many pilgrims today erroneously believe
Cape Finisterre is also the western most point of mainland Europe, the
fact that the Romans called it Finisterrae (literally the end of the
world in Latin) indicates that they viewed it as a place of
significance. Pagan influences can still be seen along “The Way” indeed
some of the modern-day pilgrims themselves are attracted more to the
pagan legends associated with “The Way” rather than the Christian. The
modern-day pilgrimage; Today thousands of Christian pilgrims and
non-Christian pilgrims each year set out from their homes or from
popular starting points across Europe. The most popular route is the
French Way or “Camino Frances” on which most pilgrims start from either
Saint Jean Pied de Port on the French side of the Pyrenees Mountains or
from Roncesvalles on the Spanish side. However many pilgrims begin
further a field from cities such as Le Puy or St. Albain. These
modern-day pilgrims walk for weeks or months to visit the city of
Santiago de Compostela. Some pilgrims travel by bicycle. In addition to
people on a religious pilgrimage there are many travelers and hikers who
walk the route for non-religious reasons such as for enjoyment, travel,
sport or simply the challenge of walking “The Way” in a beautiful
foreign land.
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