My star of sand dollar doves

I think the sand dollar is one of nature's most peculiar, beautiful and awesome shells (in science, in art and in meaning). I'm obsessed with them... enough to have a tattoo of one on my right foot. They're amazing little creatures, but my favorite thing about them is the story they tell...

It is said that the sand dollar represents the birth, crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. The five slashes surrounding the shell's body represent the wounds of Christ. At the heart of the Easter lily design on the front, is the star of Bethlehem. On the back, is the outline of the Christmas poinsettia. According to the legend, when the center of the shell is cracked open, the flock of five doves inside spreads peace and happiness.

Anyway, I came across one of my old sand dollars from Florida while sorting through and organizing bins of childhood memories last week. I set it on the floor, and clumsy me, stepped on and cracked the edge of it. Ugh. So, I made a decision: The only thing to remedy my broken heart was to open the center, and retrieve the dove replicas inside. When I did, I found the bird-like pieces bound together at the beaks in a perfect star formation! I'm not sure how or why they stayed together after all these years, but it was really cool. Of all the sand dollars I have picked up, collected and opened, I've never found anything like this. I was (and still am) pretty excited about my little discovery.

They look EXACTLY like 5 kissing doves!

I framed the pics of my find :)