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No doubt you have passed by a jewelry shop window at least once and stopped to glance at the beautiful wedding rings on display. If you have not yet been married, perhaps seeing one makes you think of the day that you will be.

Or, if you are married whether it has been for years or for only a short time, perhaps seeing a wedding ring makes you think of how special your wedding day was. Although a wedding ring’s meaning of fidelity is the same throughout the world, there are many different interesting customs associated with it.  

As most already know, a wedding ring (also known as a wedding band) is a metal ring that is worn on either the ring finger of the right or left hands as a symbol that the person is married. It is traditionally worn on the left hand in Western cultures, while in places like Russia, Germany, Bulgaria, Norway, or Poland, it is worn on the right hand.  

In some customs, the wedding ring is actually the last thing presented in an array of gifts. Most often these gifts include the engagement ring. In European tradition, it is encouraged that the name of the spouse and the date of the marriage are engraved on the wedding ring. This serves as a symbolic way of strengthening the union between the couple.  

In the English tradition, the duty of keeping track of the couple-to-be-married wedding ring is designated to the best man. The best man then gives the ring to them during that crucial part in the wedding ceremony during which the wedding rings are exchanged.  

This role in Western culture is usually designated to the ring bearer who carries the rings in on a pillow. The ring bearer is usually a young boy related to either the bride or the groom. Many different types of engagement rings were given as symbols of binding promise, including rings made of every metal from gold to iron, set with no gems at all, or emeralds, rubies, sapphires, and of course diamonds. In a variety of pre-Christian religions, simple wreath of interwoven rushes, or a small ring woven from the hair of the betrothed, were used to represent a future commitment. The practice of marking a deep and binding promise through the giving of precious jewelry is ancient.  Smaller diamonds became relatively affordable even among less wealthy members of society. The near-indestructibility of diamonds, combined with their crystalline purity and light-reflecting dazzle, makes them the perfect stone to symbolize the serious commitment to marry. The reason why the wedding ring is traditionally worn on the ring finger supposedly dates back to classical times. It was during that time that the ring finger on the left hand was thought to contain the vein of love.  
Thus, the next time you chance by a wedding ring in a store window, think not only of what it means to you. Think also of what is has meant to hundreds of years of happily married couples, and the many customs that have shaped what that ring means to couples today.

This entry was posted on Friday, April 27th, 2007 at 5:49 pm and is filed under Jewelry articles. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.