| The origin and history of the wedding ring |
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The first ones we know of that were using some kind of wedding rings, were the ancient Egyptians. They didn’t make them out of metal, but of the stem of a plant. This ring symbolized everlasting love.
The Romans adapted this tradition, but with them, the ring was more a token of the man’s ownership over the woman. The merge ring was invented in Asia. This type of ring consists of several rings that look like one when it is on the finger, but falls apart when taken off. It is a complicated puzzle to put it together again when fallen apart. The idea behind it was that a woman could not hide that she was married and commit adultery, because she would not be able to reassemble the ring afterwards. The ring has no beginning and no end, and is therefore a symbol of eternity. It is also a visual confirmation of the wedding vows. The ancient Egyptians believed that a vein they called Amoris, the love vein, was running from the heart and into the left hand, and therefore the wedding rings should be worn on the left hand. Today it differs from country to country on which hand the wedding rings are worn. In Sweden and UK for instance, the tradition based on the theory on a direct connection to the heart is kept alive, and the rings are worn on the left hand. In Norway the custom is to wear them on the right hand. In Europe the wedding ring was introduced to the wedding ceremony during the 1500’s. The priests fought against it for some time, believing it was heretic, but the people’s will prevailed. Today it is mandatory to have rings in a church wedding, though they do not have to be made out of gold. (Rings are voluntary if you’re having a civil wedding ceremony.) Most people choose to have wedding rings of gold anyway. This is a tradition that stems from the ancient mythic properties of gold. Today the wedding ring is most commonly a simple band made either of gold or platinum. It symbolizes commitment and everlasting love. The symbolism is enhanced by engraving the spouse’s name on the inside of the ring, and also the date of either the engagement day or the wedding day or both. Many places it is also common to have precious stones set in the rings, often diamonds or the birthstones of the spouse. Ailin Roelvaag 2009 Bibliography 
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