The lady once asked me why do we wear the engagement/wedding ring on our left hand?
The wedding ring has become a matter of tradition and etiquette, and there have been many theories and believes on why the ring goes on the left-hand (in most cultures atleast). Two of the most popular reasons I stumbled upon are:
1. Before medical science discovered how the circulatory system functioned, people believed that a vein of blood ran directly from the fourth finger on the left hand to the heart. Because of the ‘hand-heart’ connection, people named the putative vein descriptively “vena amori” (Latin for ‘the vein of love’). Due to this belief, by wearing rings on the fourth finger of their left hands, a married couple symbolically declares their eternal love for each other. Thus, the ring being placed on that finger, denoted the strong connection of a heartfelt love and commitment to one another.
2. In medieval England, a bridegroom would slide the ring part way up his bride’s thumb, index and middle finger, saying “In the name of the father, the son, and the holy ghost” as he passed each one. He then put the ring on the next available finger – the third finger of the left hand.
So as I lament now …
A pawn shop ain’t no place for a wedding ring
Six months from now what will that money mean?
You shop around looking for memories, somehow
The satisfaction don’t come that easy
The pun of wet towels aside. Until death do us part.