TRADITION BEHIND THE WEDDING ENGAGEMENT
In the earliest days of the human race, the betrothal ritual involved an exchange of gifts or property from the groom-to-be to the bride-to-be's parents. This was not only ceremonial, but an important part of the marriage contract because the bride's family was losing her to another lineage forever, and sought compensation for this. The betrothal eventually gave way in the eighteenth century to a courtship whereby a groom chose his bride for reasons of love.
Following the era of the arranged marriage when the groom would specify the exact payment he offered for his future wife, the formality of a groom asking the bride-to-be's father for her hand in marriage preserves a trace of history and often serves to cement the relationship between the groom to-be and his future father-in-law.
ORIGIN OF THE ENGAGEMENT RING
 Engagement, or betrothal, rings date back to the ancient days of marriage by purchase when gold rings were circulated as currency. The groom-to-be would offer his bride-to-be a gold ring both as his partial payment and as a symbol of his intentions.
Brides-to-be in these earlier times wore woven bands made of rush (a flexible marsh plant with hollow stems), and replaced them each year. Roman brides-to-be wore rings made of iron to symbolize the permanent, unending nature of marriage. During Medieval times, grooms-to-be placed the ring on three of the bride's fingers in turn to represent the Holy Trinity -- the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit
THE GIMMAL RING
The gimmal ring originated during the Elizabethan period and is a set of three interlocking rings. During the engagement, the bride-to-be, groom to-be, and their witness each wore one of the rings until the wedding day when the three pieces were united as a single ring for the bride.
THIRD FINGER, LEFT HAND
A bride's engagement ring and wedding ring are traditionally worn on the third finger of the left hand. There is no precise evidence to explain the origin of this tradition, but there are two strongly held beliefs. The first, dating back to the 17th century, is that during a Christian wedding the Priest arrived at the forth finger (counting the thumb) after touching the three fingers on the left hand '...in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost'. The second belief refers to an Egyptian belief that the ring finger follows the venaamoris, that is, the vein of love that runs directly to the heart.
WEDDING BANDS
The early Egyptians are thought to have exchanged the first wedding bands, with the circle as a symbol of eternity. Throughout the ages wedding bands have been fashioned from grass, leather, stone, iron and, finally, silver and gold. They were placed on the third finger of the left hand, because the ancients believe that the vein there led straight to the heart. |
