The tradition of wearing a wedding ring can be seen to date
back some 5000 years and symbolises the never ending circle of love,
togetherness and commitment, although history shows that in the past it has
also been used as a sign of possession or in payment to a bride’s family with
the value of the ring depicting the status and wealth of the giver.
Wedding rings throughout history have been made from various
materials, including leather, reeds and hemp, although these these did not last
very long and the wedding ring as we know it today gradually came into being
with the discovery and use of different types of metals which could be engraved
or heavily decorated , often with the giver’s own heraldry - a more permanent
sign of ownership (or belonging, perhaps, depending on your view of
marriage!). However, the Church decreed
around 1,000 years ago that this was not in keeping with the spiritual meaning
of marriage and the wedding ring then became a more simple band as we know it
today.
The traditional of placing the wedding ring on the fourth
finger of the left hand originates from a mistaken belief that a “vein of love”
flows directly to the heart from that finger.
In fact, the “wedding ring” finger is no different to all our other
fingers in that they all share the same route towards the heart. This custom has been around since ancient
Greece, and the reason for wearing the wedding ring on her left hand is because
the groom automatically reaches for his bride’s left hand with his right, and
this is how rings are exchanged today during the wedding vows
Men and Wedding Rings – The decision by Prince William not
to wear a wedding ring is not the significant departure from tradition as might
be thought. In fact, men have only been
wearing wedding rings since the middle of the last century and although it has
become a symbol of greater equality for the bride and groom to exchange wedding
rings, it is generally through personal choice and the trend towards men
wearing jewellery such as bracelets , neck chains, sovereign rings etc.
