Wedding rings trace their origins to an ancient tradition with a historical context and a long history full of meaning. Today, when people look at the hands of a married couple, they immediately see a circle symbolizing the happy couple’s love and commitment to each other, a ritual duplicated across the world. Where did these customs come from, and how have they changed over time, especially in America? Let’s learn about the origin, the cultural significance, and how the wedding rings have changed over generations.
When did wedding rings start in America?
Courtesy Lewis W. Sears, Wikimedia Wedding rings have a long history, dating back to ancient Egypt and Rome. But in America, the popular use of wedding rings is a relatively recent practice, dating back to the 19th century. By the middle of that century, wedding rings had become a standard part of marriage in the US as a sign of marital commitment between a man and a woman.
The Dark History of Wedding Rings
Wedding rings have evolved to symbolize romantic love, yet their origins are often surprising and sometimes sinister. In ancient Rome, wedding rings were used to indicate state ownership rather than mutual commitment and respect. Women wore their rings to indicate that they ‘belonged’ to their husbands. This is unsurprising, given that wedding rings were extensions of a broader Roman society that subsumed women.
Medieval Europe mirrored this patriarchal difficulty: the rings were part of a bridal dowry, worn by the woman, while her father (or brother or uncle) would actually hand over the gift. Here, the complete absence of romantic love in a transaction carries a hint of sinister negotiation: the ‘bargain’ and the ‘paren-Kredenze’ (which roughly translate from German as ‘proof’ or ‘security’) have elements of commodities being priced for sale rather than a personal expression of love.
When did women start wearing wedding rings in America?
It was in the 19th century that women in America began to wear wedding rings, following European traditions where rings had been incorporated into weddings for many centuries. By the end of the 1800s, an American wedding was virtually unprecedented without the bride-to-be wearing a ring, demonstrating her marital status, ownership of her husband, and fidelity to him. During the Victorian era, the emergence of romantic love ideology, as well as educated women who preferred private over public wedding celebrations, popularized the use of wedding rings.
When did they start using wedding rings?
You might be surprised to learn that the tradition of wearing a wedding ring has ancient origins. Some historians claim that it was the ancient Egyptians who first began to wear a ring on the fourth finger of their left hand to symbolize eternal love. They wore rings crafted out of natural materials, including rings made from braided reeds. The Romans, adopting this tradition, interpreted the practice differently, as one that signified ownership. This practice spread throughout Europe and changed over time, becoming increasingly associated with wedding customs. In America, the modern wedding ring tradition was first embraced in the 19th century and grew in popularity.
When did wedding rings become a thing in America?
During the years 1850 and beyond, wedding rings emerged in the US. Puritanical thinking turned wedding rings into a pariah, even jewelry, until more European ways became the norm and the fashion increased because we all seem to have always had wedding rings. By the early 20th century, exchanging rings was customary.
When did married men start wearing rings?
But it was thanks to marriage-minded, liberated ladies and gentlemen during the Second World War that the trend began to spread among white married men in America. Soldiers wore wedding rings to remind themselves of their wives and girlfriends waiting for them back home. The small silver hoops bound them emotionally to a hopeful home front, even across vast oceans, and for long, enduring separations. After the war, the practice became de rigueur—a standard—in American wedding ways.
Who Started Rings for Marriage?
The tradition of wearing rings during marriage ceremonies is also said to have originated with the ancient Egyptians. A circle, without beginning or end, represented eternity for them, and they are believed to have been the first to use this symbol in a marriage ceremony. The custom was later taken up by the Greeks—and following them, the Romans—but, over the following centuries, we find it spreading from here and there, changing and growing and coming to mean practically the same thing in many different places. Today, the exchange of rings symbolizes marriage everywhere.
What does a wedding ring mean to a woman?
For many women, a wedding ring is much more than just a piece of jewelry; it is a solemn acknowledgment to their partner, worn as a daily reminder of their wedding vows and their shared love. Some women wear their ring as a symbol of security, love, and feeling beholden to their husband. Many women perceive their ring as a poignant reminder of a significant step along their road of togetherness.
What do wedding rings symbolize?
Imagery and symbolism: rings have a circular shape, which symbolizes infinity, and they are forever and unbreakable, like an ‘eternal bond’ or circle. They are also worn on ironanni’s ring on the fourth finger of our left hand (or ‘ring finger’); the Romans believed that the vein within that particular finger was called the vena amoris, the vein of love, and that it connected the heart to the fingertip. Today, wedding rings express a modern understanding of the meaning of marriage: love, commitment, faithfulness, and the merging of two lives.
Why is a ring important to a woman?
To many women, a wedding ring is a potent emblem: of the promise made on the day they married; of the love and commitment of their partner; and of the continuity of tradition as the ring is passed down through family generations, holding all the secrets of their past.
What is the purpose of wearing a wedding ring?
The most important purpose of wearing an engagement or wedding ring is that it signifies the firm and solemn bond and commitment between a couple who are married. It is there to inform the public of someone’s marital status and to remind the person wearing it of the words they pledged at their union. It is viewed as an external symbol of love and devotion, worn on the finger because it is the most prominent part of the body. It is something one holds on to daily to mark one’s union with another and the string that binds a couple’s lives together. This can affect both genders.
In summary, wedding rings have evolved from objects of property and security to cherished expressions of love and promise. Over the centuries, they have come to represent a special bond and meaning and are now an integral part of marriage ceremonies. Whether it’s the classic elegance of an unadorned gold band or something more modern and personalized, the wedding ring is the indelible symbol of the sacred promise of marriage.
FAQs About Wedding Rings:
When did wedding rings start in America?
Wedding rings spread in the US in the middle of the 19th century, following European traditions dating back hundreds of years.
What is the dark history of wedding rings?
In some places and at some times, wedding rings might have promised ownership to the husband or father rather than promises of mutual love.
When did women start wearing wedding rings in America?
Americans apparently started wearing wedding rings in the 19th century. This custom was brought from Europe.
When did they start using wedding rings?
Wedding rings have been worn since ancient times, most notably by the Egyptians and the Romans, but in the modern world, they became a formal feature of marriage from the 19th century on.
When did wedding rings become a thing in America?
Wedding rings had become part of the American wedding scene by the mid-19th century, reflecting this growing culture of ceremony.
When did married men start wearing rings?
Soldiers in America started wearing wedding rings during the Second World War. Married men across America embraced this symbol of matrimonial identity and continuity, starting to wear wedding rings around the time of the Second World War.
Who started rings for marriage?
For example, the wearing of rings in a marriage ceremony is attributed to the ancient Egyptians, who associated the unbroken circumference of a circle with eternity and the unbreakable nature of the matrimonial bond.
What does a wedding ring mean to a woman?
To a lot of women, a wedding ring symbolizes commitment, love, and protection—a little thing that represents and keeps the memories of vows made and the love still being shared with someone special.
What do wedding rings symbolize?
Wedding rings are worn as a token of love and commitment, representing the matrimony of two people on their wedding day, which is meant to last a lifetime. The shape of the ring is circular, which can be said to symbolize infinity, or the everlasting nature of the couple’s love.
Why is a ring important to a woman?
It would be impossible for a woman not to feel very important about her wedding ring, as this accessory is firstly indicative of her marital status, secondly a symbol of the loved one’s devotion to her and her to him, and, most often, a very precious heirloom.
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