12 days of an Eco Christmas #day 5

On the firth day of Christmas my true love gave to me………. Five Gold Rings!

I love the drama of singing this song and the five gold rings is always sung with enthusiasm and gusto. The lyrics were originally “five golden rings” but it became ‘gold rings’ when the music was added to make it easier to sing.

The gold rings represent the first five books of the Old Testament, the “Pentateuch,” which gives the history of man’s fall from grace. These are the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. The inclusion of these in the song is showing the honesty of humanity and the all the wrong doings that then points again to gift of the Partridge that is Jesus Christ himself. The ring symbolizes eternity and is a commitment promise and why they are exchanged on a wedding day. Christmas is a time to to think of all that was promised in the birth of Jesus.

Gold is a highly valued and much loved precious metal that is perfect for recycling. Gold is mostly mined in places like South Africa and some places in the US which is then exported. However, there are environmental impacts on the mining and the production of toxic waste that ends up on our oceans. Work has been done to try and reduce the environmental impact of mining gold and it is a much cleaner process that it used to be. When buying a gold item look out for the FairTrade mark as this certifies that the gold can be traced to small scale miners that uphold best practices in the ore extraction process.

As gold can be melted down into liquid gold and refined and remade over and over again so it makes eco sense to recycle this precious material. This is using the resources that are already available. Jewelry is the best example of recycling gold, making up 90% of that which is reused. Many local jewelers will offer cash to buy back unwanted gold jewelry that can then be sold on to this process. I did this a few years ago with a pile of odd earrings that were no longer usable and I was surprised just how much they offered me for the weight in gold.

If you are looking for a special gift someone this year, then how about some recycled Jewelry like these recycled gold ring earings by Toke? I found them though the company Wearth. They are the “not-on-the-high-street” for Eco purchases and a really good ‘go to place’ for your Eco shopping. Listed on their site are all kinds of Eco inspired gifts from smaller enterprises. Buying from this site is supporting local and buying Eco.

On the fifth day of Christmas my true love sent to me Five Gold rings, Four Calling Birds, Three French Hens, Two Turtle Doves and A Partridge in a Pear Tree.