The Significance Of The Wedding Ring Throughout The Ages

By Author: Mark Fisher
Total Articles: 166
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Since the very early age from the ancient Egyptians the custom of wearing wedding rings has been a very common custom to be followed in almost every culture and tradition. Looking into the history it is seen that the custom of wearing the wedding ring started in the ancient Egypt. Since then the wedding ring had been the symbol of love and the union of the man and the woman. After the wedding it is believed that the two souls of the man and the woman becomes one. And the wedding ring stands for the symbolical representation of this union of two souls. In the ancient Egypt the famous papyrus were twisted and braided into rings for fingers and larger bracelets for wrists. Therefore, it can be said that besides other contributions to the events of history the papyrus also had significant contribution in the birth of the custom of wedding rings.

The circular shape of the ring also is considered to be significant as the circular shape symbolizes eternity and therefore the ring symbolizes eternal love. The Egyptians believed that the wedding ring should be worn on the fourth finger of the left hand. There is a belief behind ...
... this custom. The belief is that there is a vein on that finger which goes straight to the heart. Thus by wearing the ring on the fourth finger of the left hand keeps the beloved closest to the heart. This vein was known as the ‘vena amorist', which is Latin for ‘the vein of love'. However, this belief has no solid base as in reality there is no existence of any such vein.

Other than the Egyptians the Romans too followed this tradition of wedding rings. They also followed the tradition of wearing the ring on the fourth finger of the left hand. And as this custom went on the finger came to be known as the ring finger. Moreover, to the Romans the ring was also the symbol of ownership of the men over their wives. By gifting the ring to their wives the men established their possession over their wives. In those days the ring was made of iron which symbolized strength. But in the third century the custom of using iron as the metal for the ring was changed to gold or silver. The reason behind this change is that the iron begun to rust. Therefore to increase the durability of the wedding ring they chose gold or silver for the metal for the ring.

To the Greeks too the fourth finger of the left hand was considered to be the right finger to wear the ring. Therefore, the tradition of wearing the ring on the fourth finger of the left hand has not changed much till date. Moreover, in Asian countries too the tradition of the wedding ring has different connotations. In the Asian countries the ring symbolized a kind of ownership over their wives. When the husbands were away their wives were forced to wear a puzzle ring which disintegrates upon removal. Therefore, in those days the wedding ring was more an item of establishing possession than a symbol of love.

But in originality the concept of wedding ring has mainly been the symbol of love faith and dependence on each other.

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