The clam shell is a tradtional emblem of a Christian pilgrim, and there is a well-established pilgimage to the church where the remains of St James the Great are reputed to be, in northern Spain:
The pilgrim's hat traditionally had a scallop shell emblem. This is thought to be a reference to the Christian legend that, after Saint James died in Jerusalem, he was miraculously carried by angels to the Atlantic coast of Spain, although the shell symbol has also been connected to pre-Christian traditions as well.
Traditionally it is highly associated with pilgrims on the Way of St. James. The upturned brim of the hat is adorned with a scallop shell to denote the traveller's pilgrim status,...
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The Camino de Santiago (Latin: Peregrinatio Compostellana, "Pilgrimage of Compostela"; Galician: O Camiño de Santiago), known in English as the Way of St James, is a network of pilgrims' ways or pilgrimages leading to the shrine of the apostle Saint James the Great in the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia in northwestern Spain, where tradition holds that the remains of the apostle are buried.
As Pope Benedict XVI said, "It is a way...