Some people really love to know the origin of traditions, and knowing the explanation behind why we do the things we do. When it comes to weddings, there's a lot of tradition and most of the time we don't know the origins: why is it bad if the groom sees the bride in her wedding dress? Why do we throw rice at the end of a wedding? Where does "something old, something new, something blue and something lent" come from? In this article, we are going to explain the why of one of those traditions: where do gold wedding bands come from?
The story of wedding rings is extremely convoluted and it changes with every country and every religion's views on marriage; but exchanging rings as a symbol of love and promise is said to have started in Egypt: as the circle was seen as a very powerful symbol that had no end, young lovers started exchanging rings made out of reeds to show devotion to each other, and representing eternal life and love.
However, the Romans might have been the one to start the wedding ring tradition as we know it: while rings were very popular in their culture, exchanging rings during a wedding started to gain popularity during that time to signify that both persons were "out of the market"; and gold started to be used during this era too because it was rare and valuable, so it doubled as a status symbol and as a metaphor for how rare and precious the love the couple shared was.
Romans were the ones to create the tradition of putting the wedding band in the ring finger of the left hand, too: they thought in that finger there was a vein directly connecting to the heart, so with the rings, they were joining both hearts as one, just like the two lives of the bride and groom were going to become one.
Diamond wedding bands started in a similar way, too. Their exact origins are unknown, but it seems like they became popular around the 15th Century to symbolize bethrotals because diamonds were valuable, and they gained popularity during the 19th Century until they became the norm around 1940s when De Beers launched their "A Diamond is forever" campaign.
So, next time you are looking at your lovely engagement ring, or wedding band, know that while their origins are unclear, their significance and meaning is as clear as day: they are a symbol for eternal love representing how valuable you are to your partner.
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