Easter: history, traditions and Black Hills Gold cross necklaces

Most people associate Easter with the religious celebration of the resurrection of Christ. It is interesting to learn that there are many other customs and legends about Easter that go back hundreds of years.

The pagan origins trace back to the “goddess of spring and fertility”, as was honored by several ancient societies such as the Scandinavians, Saxons and Teutonians as far back as the 8th century. In those previous times, the rabbit was considered a symbol of fertility, while the egg, which is still painted with colorful patterns today, symbolized the sunlight of spring. In old traditions, eggs were exchanged as gifts. Since those times, both the rabbit and the Easter egg have remained an integral part of modern Eastern celebrations.

In societies where Christianity dominates, Easter is about the resurrection of Christ and as such is the most important holiday. Even the Christian Easter celebration, however, picks from several traditions, the strongest connection being to the Jewish celebration of Passover, which remembers the exodus of the Israelites from Egyptian slavery.

The idea of gift giving has prevailed from old traditions. If you are looking for some gift-giving ideas that have a connection to the actual Easter celebration, visit BlackHillsGoldSource.com where you can find a variety of religious jewelry for Easter, including Black Hills Gold cross necklaces, earrings and lockets, from Landstroms.

Finding the best Mothers Day gift

Finding your mom the perfect Mothers Day gift to let her know how you feel seems to get more and more difficult every year. There are just so many occasions in our busy lives that it’s just plain overwhelming at times.

Not only does she not need anything, she also won’t give any type of clue about what she might need, or might want. But then, Mother’s Day is not supposed to be about what your mom needs or wants, now is it?

Christmas and birthdays are always easier occasions to find gifts for, as you can always wrap up a nice jacket, sweater, or even a kitchen gadget or other household implement. But these items just don’t seem appropriate for Mother’s Day. Standard gifts for Mother’s Day consist of either flowers or candy, but in reality, gifts like these don’t really last, so they can’t be considered gifts from the heart.

Mother’s Day should involve a lot more thought and consideration to convey the love and gratitude you have for the person that carried you into this life. A gift that was just picked up at the checkout lane at the local grocery store during your routine weekly shopping trip simply won’t do.

When Mother’s Day was officially declared a national holiday by President Woodrow Wilson back in 1914, giving your mom a white carnation and a simple thank you on this day would have been a novel and well-appreciated gesture. Nowadays, over $16.4 billion are spent annually on Mother’s Day gifts in the United States alone, all in an effort to convey this same gratitude and love.

But Mother’s Day should really be more than just a thank you to mom. Sure, it’s a day that serves as a personal recognition of mothers, but it’s also a celebration of the mother-child relationship which each of us are an essential part of. So how do you show your love and appreciation and express your unique, personal bond with your mother?

Perhaps this year you could buy her a piece of jewelry that has your birthstone, and the birthstones of your siblings on it. A mothers birthstone ring or pendant seems to be a much more personable gift, and it would probably mean a lot more to your mom, not only as an expression of love from all her children, but as a display of her love and pride in them as well.

BlackHillsGoldSource.com offers an extensive line of mother’s jewelry in classic Black Hills Gold and Silver by the original Black Hills jewelry manufacturer, Landstroms. At BlackHillsGoldSource.com you’ll find a beautiful selection of quality hand-made Mother’s Day gift ideas, from heart-shaped jewelry to a beautiful selection of mothers rings and necklaces, and jewelry of all types for other occasions, all made by hand in the beautiful Black Hills of South Dakota.

Nothing say’s ‘Thank You’ and ‘I Love You’ and ‘I Appreciate You’ quite like a gift of Landstroms Black Hills Gold mothers jewelry. Buy Black Hills Gold for your mom today, and Happy Mothers Day this coming May!

St. Patrick’s Day facts and fun!

Shamrocks and more

Thousands will gather on the streets on March 17th to either partake in or watch the parade, where the predominant color will be green. Have you ever thought about what the origin of the reference to green and the Shamrock might be?

The History of St. Patrick’s Day

Many know that the March 17th celebration is in honor of St. Patrick (AD 387-461) from Ireland. He was a bishop who had a rocky teenage-hood. Though he was born in Great Britain, when he was only 16 years old, he was kidnapped by the Irish and forced to become a slave in Ireland. He managed to escape, returned to Britain, and embarked on the path to becoming a priest.

In 432, he returned to Ireland as a bishop to spread the word of Christianity and convert the polytheistic Irish. That’s when the Shamrock made its way into the legend of St. Patrick: supposedly he used the three leaves of the Shamrock to explain the dogma of trinity – in Christian religion the notion of the unity of the father, the son and the holy spirit. Perhaps simplistic, but people, both then and still today, learn and understand best by illustration and demonstration.

It wasn’t until 1903 that St. Patrick’s Day became a holiday in Ireland, though another 28 years passed before the first parade took place in Dublin. However, oddly enough, the very first St. Patrick’s parade in the world happened in Boston as early as 1737! The parades not only celebrate Saint Patrick; they also became a display of the Irish culture, and in past times a political statement against the British rule of Ireland.

The Emerald Isle

Further connection between the color green and St. Patrick's day comes from Ireland's frequent rainfall, resulting in the island's lush vegetation, and earning it the nickname the Emerald Isle.

Celebrating St. Patrick’s Day

Nowadays, Irish and non-Irish alike celebrate on March 17th, with almost everyone wearing a piece of green clothing for the day. You can wear the green like everybody else, but if you think the color green doesn’t suit you well, how about a piece of jewelry reflecting the color of the day?

St. Patrick’s Day Jewelry

Landstroms Original Black Hills Gold Creations offers many Black Hills Gold and Silver jewelry items featuring brilliant green emeralds on rings, necklaces and bracelets. Landstroms also offers their version of the distinctive Claddagh ring made of finest sterling silver, with Landstrom’s signature 12 karat Black Hills Gold leaves.

Don’t miss out on the celebration this St. Patrick’s Day! And if you're looking for that perfect piece of gold or silver jewelry with a brilliant green emerald to help you to celebrate the day, visit us at: http://www.blackhillsgoldsource.com/st-patricks-day-jewelry

Remember, everyone is a little Irish on St. Patrick’s Day!

Meet Miss Rodeo America 2011!

The 2011 leading lady of professional rodeo is McKenzie Haley of Winner, South Dakota! She received the crown on December 4, 2010 after a week-long pageant held in Las Vegas, Nevada in conjunction with the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo.

McKenzie is a student at Black Hills State University in Spearfish, South Dakota pursuing a degree in Elementary Education and plans to receive a Master’s degree in School Psychology. She will be able to use the $20,000 scholarship she was awarded as Miss Rodeo America from the Miss Rodeo America Scholarship Foundation to help further her educational goals.

In addition to traveling more than 100,000 miles during her reign representing Miss Rodeo America, Inc. and the Professional Rodeo Cowboy’s Association, McKenzie will wear the timeless Landstroms tiara.

Landstrom’s Original Black Hills Gold Creations has provided the official Miss Rodeo America crown every year since 1965. Miss Rodeo America Inc. was developed in 1955 to each year select a qualified Miss Rodeo America as an ambassador of good will promoting the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association and American western traditions.

We wish this proud South Dakota cowgirl the best of luck. Congratulations McKenzie!

Read the whole story.

Happy Holidays from BlackHillsGoldSource!

Holidays are always a dilemma around here! As a special Holiday or event approaches, we want to send a greeting to all our customers and those who've supported us over the years. But along come the marketing honchos who say, "Customers don't want to get any more email unless there's a special offer involved." Others maintain that not all correspondence with our customers needs to be commercialized. Well, we at BlackHillsGoldSource happen to agree with the latter. So here it goes... a greeting of the season without a coupon to redeem or a special sale announcement!

We're not simply a web portal that sells Landstroms Black Hills Gold jewelry, we're an entity that has come together to serve our customers. We truly care about your needs, helping you find that unique piece that you've been searching for, getting it to you on time, or just helping you choose the right gift to make that special person's day. Yes, we're human, and on occasion we do make an honest mistake. However, we make correcting those issues and minimizing an inconvenience our primary goal, and we do our best to make it up to our customers. Every day our purpose is to find yet another way to serve you better.

We truly appreciate the honor of serving you, and your business during the past years.

We would like to wish you and your loved ones a very joyous, healthy and safe Holiday Season and coming New Year. We look forward to our priceless relationship and to serving you further.

Miss Rodeo America Pageant 2011 scheduled for November 28

The Miss Rodeo America Pageant is held annually in conjunction with the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, in Las Vegas, Nevada. State rodeo queens compete for the coveted crown of Miss Rodeo America by competing in the areas of horsemanship, personality, appearance and rodeo knowledge & presentation. The Miss Rodeo America Pageant has been offering young women the opportunity to create solid foundations for their future endeavors, since 1955. Miss Rodeo America has become a part of a great legacy and part of rodeo history.

A complete schedule of pageant events can be found at www.missrodeoamerica.com

Landstrom’s Original Black Hills Gold Creations has provided the official Miss Rodeo America crown every year since 1965. Miss Rodeo America Inc. was developed in 1955 to each year select a qualified Miss Rodeo America as an ambassador of good will promoting the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association and American western traditions. You can buy Black Hills Gold jewelry at great prices here: http://www.blackhillsgoldsource.com

Good luck to all the contestants, but special felicitations to Miss Rodeo Colorado- Kasie Pigg (above left) and Miss Rodeo SouthDakota- McKenzie Haley (above right)!

Landstroms catalog of Black Hills Gold!

With the thousands of items Landstroms has made over the years, it would be quite an expensive and arduous task to create a catalog with everything ever made in it. So the only catalog Landstroms currently has available for purchase is generally meant for dealers and though it has beautiful, full-color photos of Landstroms most current line, it does not include prices. If this is still something you are interested in purchasing, you can do so here: Buy Landstroms Catalog

However, now you can download and print a FREE online color catalog of everything on BlackHillsGoldSource's website in .pdf format. Though it doesn't have everything Landstroms makes, it does have everything currently on the website. And as new items are added, the catalog will update automatically and you can simply download the latest version for free any time you want.

There's also an order form on the last page if you would prefer to mail in your order. This added convenience should make it easier for you to shop for your Black Hills Gold needs.