The wearing of a wedding ring is one of the oldest and most universal customs of mankind. The tradition goes back so far that no one can really tell how it first began.
The first people who actually used wedding rings in marriage were the Egyptians. In hieroglyphics, which is Egyptian picture-writing, a circle stands for eternity, and the wedding ring was a symbol of a marriage that would last forever. Christians began to use a ring in marriage around the year 900.
The fact that the ring is a circle may be one reason why it began to be used. The circle is a symbol of completeness. Some people believe that the wedding ring really started as a bracelet that was placed on women who were captured in primitive times. Gradually the circular bracelet on the arm or leg, which indicated that she was the property of one man in the tribe, was changed to a ring.
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Fact File: The ring is worn on the fourth finger of the left hand because the ancient Greeks believed that a certain vein passed from this finger directly to the heart. The real reason, however, is that we use this finger least of all the fingers, so it is more convenient to wear an ornament on it. |
Picture Credit : Google