In Western cultures, we wear the wedding rings on our left hand, and more specifically on our fourth finger (the one next to the little finger) because it is believed that “Vena Amoris” (in English the “Vein of Love”) runs through that finger and goes directly to the heart.
BUT…
No matter how romantic this story may sound, it’s just a myth. The vasculature in our hands is pretty much all the same with no vein in any finger being connected directly to the heart. So, why do we wear our wedding rings on that very finger them? (the article continues after the ad)
The rule that we should wear wedding rings on our left hand comes from “The Book of Common Prayer,” a collection of prayer books used by the Anglican Church from around 1549. Following the break with the Catholic Church — which is commonly known as the Reformation — the Anglican Church needed service and worship books that were different from those of the Catholic Church.
Prior to the Reformation, most of Europe — and therefore the Catholic Church — put the wedding ring on the right hand because it was associated with strength, writes museum conservator George Monger in “Marriage Customs of the World: From Henna to Honeymoons.”
“The Book of Common Prayer” instructs Reformers to put the ring “upon the fowerth finger of the womans left hande” instead. It’s one of many traditions that were meant to distinguish the Anglican Church from the Catholic Church and other versions of Christianity in Europe.
If you like what you read, then you will definitely love this one: This Is Why Engagement Rings Are Scam
Photo: chansen86 / Pixabay
Source: Everyone’s wrong about why we wear wedding rings on the fourth finger of our left hands
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