Wedding ring - which hand?

If you are getting married in the near future, you probably have a lot of questions. To reduce the stress and pressure, we at Schalins hope to be able to help you find suitable wedding rings. A question that is very common in connection with buying a wedding ring and planning a wedding in general is which hand the wedding ring should be worn on. Therefore, in this article we will clarify which hand the wedding ring should be worn on and other interesting information on the subject.

Left hand is most common

In Sweden, we wear our engagement ring and wedding ring on our left hand. But in Poland, Austria, Denmark and Germany, it is most common to wear our wedding ring on our right hand. In other words, it can differ depending on which culture and country you come from. Therefore, you can choose which hand you want to put your rings on. There is no right or wrong, and it is not considered strange if it would suit you better to wear the ring on a different hand than according to tradition. But overall, in Sweden, it is most common to wear both rings on the left hand.

Which hand to wear your wedding ring on has been a hot question since the Middle Ages, as traditions constantly change depending on culture and country.

The story behind

Now that you know that the left hand is the most common hand to wear the wedding ring on in Sweden, it may be interesting to know where the tradition comes from.

It is believed that the origin of wearing the wedding ring on the ring finger of the left hand comes from ancient Egypt. It has to do with the belief that a vein went from the left ring finger to the heart. The Egyptians considered the heart to be the origin of the soul. But what we know today is that all veins go directly to the heart and therefore it does not matter which finger or hand you place the wedding ring on, they all go to the heart.

The tradition was then taken up by the ancient Greeks in connection with Alexander the Great's conquest of Greece around 332 BC. From there, the tradition was transferred to the Roman Empire, where the vein was called the Vena Amoris, which roughly means the vein of love.

In addition to the fact that in Sweden we traditionally wear the wedding ring on the left hand, it is also common in the USA and Great Britain. In the 18th century, British Catholics switched from wearing the wedding ring on the right hand to the left hand and since then the left hand has been the standard among the British. However, as we mentioned in the previous paragraph, in most Western countries it is more common to wear your wedding ring on the right hand.

The appearance of the wedding ring

When it comes to how the wedding ring should look, you can choose completely freely and therefore we have a wide range to choose from. Wedding rings with or without diamonds set as a solitaire or directly into the bar. What is modern also changes when it comes to wedding rings, although it is most classic with gold, white gold or silver. Many people choose to immortalize their wedding ring with an engraving, it is common for the ring to have a date, place or a quote. But here you choose what suits you best.