WEDDING RINGS

Evening Post, Volume CXII, Issue 80, 1 October 1931, Page 17

WEDDING RINGS

BRIDES IN OTHER LANDS

"With thia ring I thee -wed ..." and the bridegroom slips thci ring !on hia bride's finger. This slipping on of the ring is the symbol of union and fidelity, writes a correspondent. In various and different ways it is practised the world ovei'j but always the symbol of union is the' cardinal point of the service. Although the cathedral. decked with flowers, bridesmaids in lovely gowns, flower-girls showering petals for the bride to walk on, may be the London girl's idea of the ideal marriage, the Bengal bride thinks the simple ceremony of a flower chain bound about herself and her beloved 'is fitting symbol of their-union. And think what delight the Zamb.ale girl must get out of her marriage ce.remonyj. An old man of the'tribe. is appointed to knock ( together the heads of the.devoted pair! \ In parts .of China the hair of the couple is" knotted together. In Southern Spain each wedding : guest ties a knot on the fringes of the bride's costume and the groom's toga. In some nations the couple just shake hands before the guests; in Orkney, they sometimes carry on the. old custom' of plighting hands through a large stone ring. I« some countries the hands are not only clasped, but also bound with a cord. But in Assam both methods are used; a blade of eusha grass is first used to tie the. thumbs of the couple; when this is severed! they, present each other with a ring! FROM IRON TO JEWELS. One of the simplest: customs' of presenting the ring is practised by the Tors of Central' Africa, On the seventh. day after their, union the groOni presentß his bride With a ring. She accepts this and gives him one in return accompanied by some present, as a love token. ; In England and America1 a new fad has arisen within'the last few years. The gold circlet, Greek in its simplicity, pure and lasting in metal, and the veryessence of strength and harmony, is being abandoned for more gaudy things —jade, diamonds, rubies, emeralds; and some modern young women even go to the extent of having more than one wedding ring. In fact, a wedding ring to match each costume! We may hope that this will be but a passing fancy ... yet perhaps the wedding ring is going through another stage of itsevolution. The ancients ■ favoured' the ring 'of iron, then the ring of brass. In the second century gold was introduced for secular purposes; then it received ecclesiastical sanction and was blessed and used during the ceremony. The gold' ring came to make a long stay. It is true that the plain band has been supplanted temporarily by elaborate ones engraved and studded with jewels, but not for long. And the Teutonic countries, who are adopting the gold band more and more, were much against it. at first . .' .favouring their custom of dividing a silver or gold coin in two—the bride, and groom each taking half. ' . THE "FINGER 01* LITE." And the marriage ring has taken quite a journey before reaching its place on the third -finger of the left hand. Some countries first placed it on the thumb of the right hand, then the third finger of the same hand. Then it jumped to the thumb of the left, and finally to the third finger there. But some countries still use the right hand finger in preference. Tho reasons for our placing it on the third finger of tho left hand are very charming and appropriate. It is the finger least used, and so the most protected. It .is the weakest finger of all and symbolises the wife's dependence on her husband. It is connected directly with the heart, and is therefore supposed to be $he "finger, of life.**