I knew what the hand was, I've seen charms of it and so on, but not as pretty as the one you sent. =3 It's to ward off the evil eye, and stuff. :O A lot of the time they're hung so they point downwards, so I guess you just open it up and hang it over some ribbon or yarn and snap it closed again. Simple and clever. :D

I'm gonna start the soup going now. It says 4 portions on this. :O PFFT! I think it's more likely to be 2.