With all the hubbub around your wedding planning, sometimes we just don’t think about some of the traditions or meanings behind the certain things were doing. It’s not really our fault, there really is a ton of stuff to work on when doing your wedding planning. But sometimes it’s important to know the traditions and why you do certain things the way you do in order to help make them more memorable for you. Take wedding rings for instance. Why do we give wedding rings in the first place, and why are they always worn on the left hand? Is there any kind of meaning behind them or is it just something to mark us as taken to the world around us? Here are some little known facts about wedding ring traditions to help you get a better idea of the meaning and uses behind that wedding ring.
Are Wedding Rings Always Worn on the Left Hand?
No they’re not. And this was even a surprise to me when I was working on this article.
In some parts of the world, wedding rings are worn on the ring finger of the right hand. Many Orthodox Christians and Eastern Europeans traditionally wear their wedding rings on the right hand. Greek people, many being Orthodox Christians, also wear the wedding rings on the right hand in keeping with Greek tradition. During the Eighteenth century Roman Catholics wore wedding rings on their right hands. It’s been found that still others wore their wedding rings on their thumbs. Weird huh? So how did we get to start wearing wedding rings on our left ring finger? It’s simple, and the idea started in Egypt. To the Egyptians, the circle shape of wedding rings represented eternity, and wearing the wedding ring symbolized the eternity of the marriage agreement. The rings were placed on their left hand on the fourth finger because they believed that the left hand was connected directly to the heart. Pretty romantic isn’t it?
What Order should the Engagement Ring and Wedding Band be Worn?
There are many different options concerning this wedding ring tradition. Many believe that the woman should wear her wedding ring before the engagement ring on her finger, making the wedding ring closer to her heart. Another popular belief concerning this is the exact opposite. This belief says that the engagement ring should be worn first, and then the wedding ring, as it is believed this will seal in the atmosphere of engagement into the marriage. Still others prefer to only wear the wedding band.
New Wedding Ring Traditions
Believe it or not, not all wedding ring traditions have dated back thousands of years. One major wedding ring tradition that has changed pretty recently is the one of men wearing wedding rings. In the past, only women wore wedding rings, while the groom kept his finger bare. I guess it was some of the jewelers with some pretty good marketing that were able to make such a drastic change on that wedding ring tradition. Also, a somewhat newer wedding tradition encourages the engraving of the names of the bride and groom and their marriage date on the inside surface of the wedding rings. This strengthens the symbolism and sentimentality of the wedding rings as they become family heirlooms in the future.
While it’s been proven that wedding rings have been around for thousands of years, it’s obvious that they are not always the same traditions that we follow today. But they’re still fun facts to know and read about, and hopefully to make the symbolism of your wedding rings something that will stick with you for years to come. Also, it kind of makes for a fun conversational piece.
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