The Tradition of Wedding Bands

by Neta E. Talmor

When you start shopping for a wedding band for your own wedding day, you are taking part in a tradition which people have engaged in for thousands of years. There is a lot of history and many traditions associated with wedding rings, with cultures from all parts of the globe using these rings to symbolize love and commitment in their wedding ceremonies in one form or another.

Perhaps the first indication of rings being used to seal matrimonial vows comes from the Egyptians, who wore bands made from a variety of different materials. For the poorest people, the bands might have been woven from hemp, but later on, they might be sewn from leather or carved from bone or ivory. Those these gifts were given at weddings, they seldom lasted more than a few years, and the wedding band as we know it didn’t occur until much later.

Though the tradition of the wedding ring is an old one, it might interest you to know that there were many different types. While we are very familiar with the plain gold bands, Greek women and Anatolian women in years past received puzzle rings, while women in many French speaking countries received a band that was made up of three rings interwoven together.

One part of the history of wedding rings is where they are worn. Tradition often states that they are to be worn on the third finger of the left hand, because there is a vein that goes from that finger to the heart. While this is not true, it is still the traditional placement for rings during a ceremony. During the time of Queen Elizabeth of England, the wedding ring was worn on the thumb, while in Russia, in years past, the ring was worn on the third finger of the right hand.

Take some time to think about what your wedding ring means and what kind of history or tradition you want to adhere to. You may be interested in the plain gold bands, or perhaps you are more interested in the rings styled after the ancient Celtic knotwork designs. Some prefer the Anatolian puzzle ring designs, while others are more interested in rings that have been interwoven together, making the slide over one another. No matter what choice you make, you’ll find that you have plenty of options in front of you, and a long history to back you up!

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