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Why is the "ring finger" the ring finger?
Why is the "ring finger" the ring finger?β
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β Source: Gemological Institute of America Inc. (Photo: Richard P. Goodbody Inc. (CC0 1.0)) |
The tradition spread over time, first to the Greeks following Alexander the Great's conquest of Egypt, and then onward to the Romans. In many cultures since, exchanging rings during a wedding ceremony has remained a tradition to this day.
But why have we decided that wedding rings should go on your "ring finger," the finger between your pinkie and middle finger? While we don't have definitive answers, here are two leading theories for why the "ring finger" is the ring finger.
Theory #1: The ring finger was believed to contain the "vein of love."
Ancient Egyptians believed that the fourth finger on the left hand contained a vein that led directly to the heart, later called the "vena amoris" (vein of love) by the Romans. Roman writer Macrobius documented the romantic practice of placing a ring on this finger as a nod to the vena amoris:
It's a romantic notion. But now we know that all veins return blood to the heart, so technically every vein is a vena amoris. β€οΈ
Theory #2: The ring finger was associated with healing and cleanliness.
Stemming from the belief that the ring finger housed the vena amoris, it became associated with various medical remedies in Medieval Europe. Some believed that simply wearing a gold ring on this finger could cure disease.
Others thought a pinch or a round of bloodletting could relieve ailments. For this reason, the ring finger was also known as the "leech finger." (By the way, "leech" was once an old word for doctor, which only later became the name for the bloodsucking worm.)
Other cultures also associated the ring finger with health and cleanliness. The Japanese word for ring finger is kusuri yubi (θ¬ζ), which translates to medicine finger. The belief was that this was the cleanest finger, so it was used to take powder drugs.
π§ Bonus brain points
Why are wedding rings typically worn on the left hand?
In many Western cultures, wedding rings are worn on the left ring finger. This tradition is partly rooted in the ancient Egyptian belief that a vein ran from the left ring finger directly to the heart. But it also has practical advantages: Since most people are right-handed, a ring worn on the left hand will experience less wear and tear from daily use.
But other cultures choose to wear wedding rings on the right hand. For example followers of the Eastern Orthodox Church (common in Russia, Greece, Ukraine, Serbia, Bulgaria, Romania, and Georgia), wear rings on the right hand because of the belief that Jesus sits at the right hand of God. And in Jewish wedding ceremonies, the ring is placed on the right hand of the bride because that hand is traditionally used for oathsβthough many brides switch it to the left hand afterwards.
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βSources for this week's newsletterβ
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π Wikipedia article of the week
βOnfimβ
"Onfim was a boy who lived in the Russian city of Novgorod in the 13th century, sometime around 1220 or 1260. He left his notes and homework exercises scratched in soft birch bark, which was preserved in the clay soil of Novgorod.
Onfim, who was most likely six or seven at the time, wrote in the Old Novgorod dialect, a historical variety of Russian. Besides letters and syllables, he drew 'battle scenes and drawings of himself and his teacher.'"
π Catch up on other curious questions
- βWhy do humans kiss each other?β
- βWhat causes the "butterflies in your stomach" feeling?β
- βWhy do we use metaphors?β
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