The Wedding Ring Finger
Posted by Patti Wellington on Fri, Jun 25, 2010 @ 09:05 AM
Weddings are sacred occasions in which the nuptials confirm the couples into an eternal relation. A marriage cannot be completed without a wedding ring and in some countries a couple can only wed each other only by exchanging the wedding ring. It is a must in every wedding.
The wedding ring symbolizes love, fidelity and marital loyalty to each other and is often worn on the left ring finger, which is the fourth finger from the thumb of the left hand.
It is believed that the left ring finger contains the “vena amoris” or “vein of love” - a vein that runs from the heart to the fourth finger of the left hand. Henry Swinburne first used the term “vena amoris” in the year 1686.
But in countries like India, Chile, Venezuela, Spain it is worn on the right ring finger. The conservative Christians and Jews in Eastern European countries also wear the wedding ring on the right ring finger.
In Austria and Netherlands, catholics wear it on the right hand. Wearing the wedding ring on the right ring finger evolves from Roman tradition that is thought that the left hand is a negative one and right hand is a positive one. Wearing the wedding ring on the right or left finger mainly depends on custom and tradition.