Wedding ring - which hand?

If you are getting married in the near future, you probably have a lot of questions. To reduce 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 generally planning a wedding is which hand the wedding ring should sit on. Therefore, in this article we will find out which hand the wedding ring should sit on and other interesting information on the subject.

Left hand is most common

In Sweden, we wear engagement rings and wedding rings on the left hand. But in Poland, Austria, Denmark and Germany it is most common to wear the wedding ring on the right hand. In other words, it can differ depending on which culture and which country you come from. Therefore, you can choose which hand 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, it is most common in Sweden 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 when traditions constantly change depending on culture and country.

The story behind it

Now that you know that the left hand is the most common hand to wear the wedding ring on in Sweden, it might 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 ran from the left ring finger to the heart. By the Egyptians, the heart was considered the origin of the soul. But what is known 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 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 United States and Great Britain. In the 18th century, the 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. But as we mentioned in the previous paragraph, it is more common in most Western countries to wear one's wedding ring on the right hand.

The appearance of the wedding ring

As for 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 down the rail. What is modern also changes when it comes to wedding rings, although it is most classic with gold, white gold or silver. Many 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.