As everyone in our little church knows, I, Robin, have an adopted family. I wasn't blessed with the ability to have children, but I was blessed with my best friend and her three kids. Let tell you, it's a wild ride when you get a crash course in parenting a 7, 9, and soon to be 17-year-old. These kids are wild, drive me half-crazy and then leave me thinking about things I never really questioned.  Questions like- Why Milk? Not, why do we drink it, but why is it called that and how do we know we can drink it? Why not cow juice? I, personally, have been known to call it Moo Juice. 

      The latest random question I got actually came from the teenager. They have reached an age where they dream of the kind of things they want to do for a living and marriage and going the non-traditional route because they themselves are a rather non-traditional person. Their mom and I love them more for wanting to be unique. Would you like to know what they asked?

      "Why do we wear our wedding rings on our left-hand ring finger?" My teen wants to give their sweetheart a promise ring, but the grandparents of the sweetheart say "Not on the ring finger it's sacred!" So we then wondered, is it really? Or is that a tradition made up or established by a certain culture or group?

    Here is the answer. It's neither. It is not sacred, or a tradition of a certain culture, or a practice of a certain group. It's something far simpler than that. Ancient Romans, Grecians, and Egyptians believed there was a vein on our left hands that runs to the left ring finger called the VENA AMORIS, or love vein. In ancient times, rings and jewelry of gold were for the rich and powerful. It was not uncommon to see them wearing rings on every finger regardless of marriage status. Neck torques were the second form of marriage band and by far more common amongst the less wealthy as a torque could be made from nearly anything. Always a ring or circle to symbolize completeness.

    It turns out, some deeper digging by scientists and medical professionals have proven there is no vein that runs straight to the heart from our left ring fingers. So why, then, do we keep this tradition and is it truly sacred?

  We'll answer the sacred part first. Everything in this world, granted by our Creator, is in fact both divine and sacred. It is given the sacred meaning by that creator and maintains the sacred meaning because we believe in the sacredness. It's a self-applying and self-actualizing act of power that our Creator has granted us. So, if someone believes that wearing a ring on the left ring finger is sacred, then it is. It is sacred to them and worthy of respect. It does not mean it will hold the same meaning for all of us. But, if you meet someone who says it’s sacred to them, show them love by holding their belief in their ring’s placement sacred to them as well.

Let’s look at the traditional side of wearing wedding rings. I previously stated the tradition started back in ancient times in Rome, Greece, and even Egypt. The early doctors, like Hippocrates, thought a vein ran from the left fourth finger to the heart and that your heart’s pulse thrummed through to your left hand. It’s a beautiful thought. Unfortunately, modern medicine discovered our bodies are not wired- pardon- veined that way and that we have many veins running from our hands to our center but need lead directly to the heart from one place. This practice, though, carried over to the whole of Europe and was spread through word of mouth by the people as they warred, conquered, explored, and traded. It was picked up by the early Catholic church and carried over to early England in the medieval times. Wearing the ring on the left hand eventually gained a royal decree from King Henry VI. He made it law, or something like it, that all married couples must wear their rings on their left hands. It was around this same time that the Celts of Ireland and Scotland were traditionally performing handfasting’s, not weddings, which did not require the use of jewelry or anything really in order to be promised to one another. It was not uncommon, though for the women to either gain a brooch worn over the left shoulder or a signet ring to adorn her left hand.

The information and stories go deeper about this tradition but I’m thinking I should leave the final fulfillment of curiosity to you and the internet. How do you feel about the wedding ring question? Do you feel your left ring finger is sacred? Is it special to you? Would you consider another symbol of promise to the one you love? I loved it all. Answering a question I never knew existed in my mind. With the exception of that royal decree, the reason behind wearing a wedding ring on your left finger is. in my opinion, a very sweet tradition and practice. I’m not sure I see it as sacred, but the symbol of promise most certainly is.

 

Information provided in the article were found online from:

Encyclopedia Brittanica

Kay Jewelers

History.com

and more... during this creation I discovered that professional jewelers have small versions of why the left ring finger and all talk about the love vein.