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Why
is a wedding ring worn on the
third finger of the left hand?
As
far as we know, the ancient Egyptians were the first to place
a ring on the
third finger of the left hand to signify the marriage
union. It was placed
on that finger because Egyptians believed
that the "vein of love"
ran from this finger to the heart. They
They used a ring because they believed
that the circle was the
symbol for eternity. It represented perfection because
it had no beginning and no end. Rings
found in ancient Egyptian tombs were made of pure gold.
The name or title
of the owner was engraved on the ring in
hieroglyphs. The poorer citizens
of Egypt wore rings of silver,
bronze, amber, ivory, or simply glazed pottery.
Because gold
was precious to the early Romans, a gold ring symbolized
everlasting love and commitment. King
Edward VI of England decreed that the third finger on the
left hand was to
be the ring finger. In the 1549 Book of Common
Prayer, the left hand was designated
as the marriage hand. From
the earliest times in our history, people have
always given advice
to newly married couples such as "comfort each other,"
"respect one
another," and "listen to each other." One
of my personal favorites
is "Never yell at each other unless the house
is on fire!" From
... "What Makes Flamingos Pink?" by Bill McLain
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