Question: Wedding Ring, left or right ring finger?

[Arnaud Van Tilburgh]

As you could know, I pay the bills by making wedding rings, and I make a lot of them in Ti.

Most of the time when I take an order after making a design how the wedding rings will look like and the costs, I have to take the finger measure.
Question that follows: “right or left finger”. Then they look at me as if I know that. Never found the info in the Internet.
So I always tell my customers: “ as there is no wedding ring police yet, you are free to choose” I then help them by giving some suggestions why to choose right or left ring finger to wear the wedding ring.

My last customer however, as he wanted to have it right because his marriage will be with all bells and whistles. So he asked the priest, but he didn’t know.

In the 70 ties, having a earring it was important for some to have it on the right side, that because if the wrong side, you could look like gay.

So I think, right or left side also over here in Belgium has to do with religion, the Protestant and the Catholics have choose different, but also it depends from what city you live in.

So I think this perhaps will be a never ending story to find out.

I would like to know why left or right ring finger in your particular culture and why?

I could have to do with religion I know, and it is not my intention to start a religion discussion, but perhaps Sam can close one eye as long as it is about right or left for a wedding ring.

I wear my wedding ring on my left ring finger, just because I’m right handed.


Arnaud

 

[Arnaud Van Tilburgh]

I now notice, it also could be on another finger in your culture, it doesn't have to be on one of the two ring fingers. (the fourth finger when your thumb in one)

arnaud

 

[DKanger]

The ring is generally worn on the left hand because the heart is on the left side and the ring signifies the bonding of two hearts.

 

[mrthe]

in Italy goes in annulling of the left hand, by a tradiction of the olds Romans, in this finger we have an artery that go directly to the heart which they believed that was the place from where the feelings are born

 

[Arnaud Van Tilburgh]

DKanger, could be the general rule in your habitat, sure it isn't here.
A quick Google translation of wikipedia about that in Dutch tells differnet as what you and mrthe pretends.

arnaud

 

[Arnaud Van Tilburgh]

English WIKIPEDIA says:

In Western cultures, a wedding ring is traditionally worn on the ring finger. This developed from the Roman "annulus pronubis" when the man gave a ring to the woman at the betrothal ceremony. According to tradition in some countries (derived from Roman belief), the wedding ring is worn on the left ring finger because the vein in the left ring finger, referred to as the vena amoris, was falsely believed to be directly connected to the heart, a symbol of love. Blessing the wedding ring and putting it on the bride's finger dates from the 11th century. In medieval Europe, the Christian wedding ceremony placed the ring in sequence on the index, middle, and ring fingers of the left hand. The ring was then left on the ring finger. In a few European countries, the ring is worn on the left hand prior to marriage, then transferred to the right during the ceremony. For example, a Greek Orthodox bride wears the ring on the left hand prior to the ceremony, then moves it to the right hand after the wedding. In England, the 1549 Prayer Book declared "the ring shall be placed on the left hand". By the 17th and 18th centuries the ring could be found on any finger after the ceremony — even on the thumb.

In some Orthodox Christian countries, the wedding ring is worn on the ring finger of the right hand.[2]

Several traditions exist in traditional Jewish wedding ceremonies: most commonly today, the ring is placed on the index finger; but other traditions record placing it of the middle finger or the thumb.[3] Today the ring usually is moved to the ring finger after the ceremony. Some Jewish grooms have adopted wearing a wedding ring.

A wedding ring is not a traditional part of the religious Muslim wedding; wedding rings are not included in most Islamic countries. However, if a wedding ring is worn in an Islamic country, it may be worn on either the left (such is the custom in Iran) or the right ring finger. As opposed to the wedding ring, use of a ring to denote betrothal or engagement is quite prevalent in Muslim countries, especially those in West and South Asia.

Rings are not traditional in an Indian wedding. In modern society, it is becoming a practice though to wear rings for engagements and not for actual marriage. Though the left hand is considered inauspicious for religious activities, ring (not to be called wedding ring) is still worn in the left hand.

In Sinhala and Tamil culture groom wears the wedding ring on his right hand and bride wears it on her left hand ring finger. This can be seen in countries like Sri Lanka where there is a rich Sinhala and Tamil cultural influence in the society.

 

[Arnaud Van Tilburgh]

Dutch WIKIPEDIA says:
And sorry for the poor Google Dutch Wikipedia translation, but I can't do it better.
But is is talking about the difference in religion and left or right.

The exchange of the rings has always been a fixed part of the wedding ceremony. In the Catholic Church is even a compulsory part of the wedding ceremony. The ring was the ring finger of the left hand worn. After the Reformation were the wedding rings as inappropriate vanity seen under the influence of Calvinism. While the Catholics continued with the blessing of wedding rings, the Protestants had renounced the alliance. Only in the nineteenth century, the Protestants use the wedding ring again when they became aware of the symbolic meaning of the ring. But fully accept the Catholic practices they did not. To set themselves off against the "left bearing" Catholics, Protestants chose the right finger. This can often tell if someone in the Netherlands (from home) is Protestant or Catholic. The non-believers or else wear the ring often now, for American use, on the left.
[edit] In Flanders

In Flanders are wearing the wedding ring in West and East Flanders left in Antwerp and Brabant right, while in Limburg varies by region. [Source?]
[edit] Elsewhere

In North America and South Africa, most married couples wear their wedding ring on their left ring finger, regardless of whether or not they are Catholic. Eastern Orthodox wear their wedding ring always at the right ring finger, a practice that also applies in the German speaking countries and Chile.

During a Jewish wedding is the wedding ring for the forefinger of the bride slipped. After placing the bride's wedding ring usually to her left ring finger.

 

[mrthe]

Arnaud you have start this thread with "Question that follows: “right or left finger”. Then they look at me as if I know that. Never found the info in the Internet."
after read yours lasts posts now i'm confused....
all the way in the same country you can find more than a version , heare in spain for example i have the same problem with my customers some think that the right way is in the left and others that is the right hand, finally the right way is where the customer want .

 

[Arnaud Van Tilburgh]

Yes mrthe, "where customer want"
But yes I Googled that question, and have some answers, both left and right hands. And as there are only two hands, there are only two choices.
My question is to find out who is wearing the wedding ring on which hand.
If this was easy and equal to all of us, me as a goldsmith could say, no matter what culture you are from, wear it on your left hand because that is most common.

So this answer I couldn't find, and probably there would be no answer on that as a one rule.

Sure this is a honest question and I do not have the answer, only some possibilities.

arnaud

 

[DakotaDocMartin]

It's the gays that wear the ring on their right hand here in the USA. Probably elsewhere too but a lot of people don't notice or just aren't aware of it. Sort of the same thing with the earring in the ear.

 

[g.rohrbaugh]

from the net - "Before medical science discovered how the circulatory system functioned, people believed that a vein of blood ran directly from the third finger on the left hand to the heart and chose the name ven amori, Latin for the vein of love.
Gary

 

[KCSteve]

Very interesting thread Arnaud!

Before this thread I'm sure many of us would have confidently answered "It goes xxxx." Now, however, we know that we can only be confident in saying "around here it normally goes xxxx."

And for me here in the heart of America, that's the ring finger of the left hand. With the popularity of US movies around the world and the way they often refer to wedding rings I'm betting it has become more common around the world. Probably has addded some confusion in the places where that wasn't the tradition.

 

[Dave London]

Arnaud
That is the problem with internet info, anyone can edit the information. The ring finger is based on religion like it or not.
Wikipedia is famous for wrong info. MTC

 

[Arnaud Van Tilburgh]

Thank you Steve, you nailed it in my opinion. The US isn’t the centre of the world neither is Belgium or Australia.
I think most of us are interested in the “WHY” so this is one of that.

arnaud

 

[Arnaud Van Tilburgh]

Dave, I don't know if you read also my translation from Dutch, but I assure you that you are right about religion, that is how I started my tread.
But to me it started as a ethnical behave, like the Christmas tree.
Over here sure the difference is about Protestants or Catholics, both use a different hand.

arnaud

 

[tbear]

I always thought that after a marriage the guy ended up with the ring in his nose.

 

[Dave London]

Thanks Arnaud
No I do not read Dutch,nlucky to speak and read English and redneck. LOL

 

[ivar]

I learned for a long time. Engagement Ring is on the left hand closer to the *heart.By marriage we moved ring to the right hands. To day we know that the heart is not the left but more center chest.*so it does not matter whether the arm is used*