Wearing wedding ring on right hand

[whistlepig]

Recently, I had professional contact with a woman who wears what seems like a wedding band on her right ring finger (the simple gold wedding band).

Because it was a professional contact, I couldn't ask if she was married.

But I'm curious why a woman would wear a wedding ring on her right ring finger. Is there a social custom I'm missing here?

Whistlepig

[Scarlett67]

It's my understanding that some Europeans wear their wedding rings on the right hand.

[Q.E.D.]

Some widows move the wedding band from the left hand to the right when the begin dating again. Cite. (http://www.drdaveanddee.com/wedding4.html)

[AbbySthrnAccent]

Is she European or Russian? Some women in Europe and Russia wear them on the right hand. I'm pretty sure Latvia is one of the countries where the ring is moved to the right hand at the wedding ceremony.

[Green Bean]

My husband has nasty tendonitis in his left ring finger, so on the rare occasions when he wears his ring, he wears it on the right.

Perhaps this woman's ring was a family heirloom.

[Eva Luna]

Ditto what Abby said. In the FSU and parts of Eastern Europe, wedding rings are worn on the right hand. I posted a GQ about this a while back, asking if it had anything to do with the geographical dividing line between primarily Catholic/Protestant vs. Eastern Orthodox areas, but nobody responded, so I'll be curious to see what happens to this thread.

[Ender_Will]

My uncle is left handed, and I seem to recall that he wears it on his right hand. She may be left handed (check which wrist the watch is on, it's often on the non-dominant hand), or it could just be a ring (possibly an heirloom, as [b]Green Bean[/i] mentioned) that she wears.

[ShadiRoxan]

i wore my mother's wedding ring on my right hand. it just happened that it fit that finger rather than the other.

i have a vague memory about hearing that gay couples wear their rings on the right. don't know how true that is though. any one know about this?

[whistlepig]

Originally posted by AbbySthrnAccent
Is she European or Russian?

Uh, no. This is definitely a US woman.

I know that there are certain Jews (Chasidim?) that wear the ring on the right hand- that's not the case.

I thought maybe the ring on the right hand was a (subculture) mourning, or a lesbian marriage or a ???

And the ??? was what I was curious about. I try to stay "hip" but there are certain things that pass me by.

And maybe it just has a personal meaning. If she lived 200 miles closer I'd (blush) ask her to lunch but . . .

Whistlepig

[Audrey Levins]

I know a couple of divorcees who wear their wedding ring on their right hand now; the way they look at it, it's a pretty piece of jewelry. Particularly if it's encrusted with diamonds and sparkles a lot. :D

The only other tradition I know of as to rings on the right ring finger are promise rings, which are "pre-engagement" rings.

But these are usually rings with stones, so I'm not sure why you'd wear a plain gold wedding band on that finger. (And as far as I know, re: mourning, widows still wear their rings on their left hand unless they get remarried.)

Maybe it was her mother's/aunt's/sister's, or has sentimental meaning of some kind to her, so she wears it on that hand in memory.

[Doctor Goo Fee]

In the Netherlands the Protestants wear their wedding rings on one hand and the Catholics on the other. I don't know which religion uses which hand.

[Barks' dog food]

In Norway the wedding ring is worn on the right hand. 2 possible reasons. In Norse mythologi Thor made a ring and wore it on his right hand. You need the left hand to wipe your butt.
The Danes and the Swedes wear their rings on the left hand but in Sweden they change to the right hand if one dies.

[grey_ideas]

BDF, I know that the Danes wear their wedding rings on the right hand but I can't remember about the Swedes at the moment. I think it's the left hand, but I haven't heard that bit about moving the ring if someone dies, I'll have to have an ask around!

[Mycroft Holmes]

In Germany the wedding ring is also worn on the right hand. I have no idea why, and I doubt it has anything to do with which hand you use to wipe your butt.

[Floater]

Originally posted by grey_ideas
... but I can't remember about the Swedes at the moment.
Both partners wear an engagement ring on the left hand and at the wedding the wife (or rather the hubbie) adds a wedding ring. The only person I have ever heard of with his engagement ring on his right hand is a professional guitarrist, who doesn't want his ring to interfere with his playing.

[Frank #2]

Is it possible they were left-handed? Having never worn rings before, something on my left hand could become a bothersome to me. Wearing a ring on my right hand would possibly lessen the discomfort. Then again, maybe after wearing a wedding ring for a while you never even notice it anymore.

[tanookie]

Before some creep stole them I had my grandmother's rings. They were left to me when she died. As I was not married or engaged but wanted to wear the rings to keep her close to me I wore them on my right hand. Maybe it was a family heirloom?

[Otto]

i have a vague memory about hearing that gay couples wear their rings on the right. don't know how true that is though. any one know about this? Depends on the couple. My ex and I wore our rings on our left ring fingers (at least I did; he kept losing his). After we split up I switched to another ring because I was used to having something on that finger. Now I wear a ring of no particular significance on my right ring finger and the left is bare. Other couples I know wear their rings on the left. Some wear on the right. Some don't have rings at all.

[CrankyAsAnOldMan]

If she recently lost weight, it could be that the ring was too loose and she moved it to her right hand (on my right hand, the fingers are bigger, presumably because my right-handedness develops the muscles more).

Not everyone puts a lot of stock in the symbolism. I don't always wear my ring, and I'm not particular about the hand it's on. It could be that she just doesn't care.

[mipiace]

A couple of guesses are that it was her mother or grandmother's ring, or that she is a widow. In any of thhose cases, I couldl see her wearing a ring on her right hand.

[Coldfire]

I merged the two threads, so the posts might seem a bit erratic now.Originally posted by Doctor Goo Fee
In the Netherlands the Protestants wear their wedding rings on one hand and the Catholics on the other. I don't know which religion uses which hand. Catholics wear it on the left hand, Protestants on the right. Until recently, I thought this was a universal thing, until a conversation with my girlfriend taught me otherwise.

[matt_mcl]

i have a vague memory about hearing that gay couples wear their rings on the right. don't know how true that is though. any one know about this?

I'm definitely wearing my rings on the left hand.

(I have an old ring that I'm wearing on my left hand for Tom. I switch it to my right hand if there's something I want to remember, like tying a string around my finger. It's a trick I learned from my mom.)

[lovelyluka]

Just so we're clear, you know that when you're facing someone, their left hand is on your right side?









:D I am soooo kidding...*ducks and runs*

[soulmurk]

For a time after I got divorced, I wore my wedding band on my right ring finger as a symbolic gesture. What it symbolized, I'm not certain, but it seemed fitting to me at the time.

[elfkin477]

I too would assume she was a leftie. I've never been married or engaged, but I wear all my watches, bracelets and rings on my right hand/wrist since having them on my left irritates me while writing. Which, I suspect, is the reason so many righties also confine jewelery to their non-dominate hand/wrist.

[zut]

Members of the Greek Orthodox church (like my brother- and sister-in-law, which is how I know this) wear wedding rings on the right hand after the marriage ceremony. Cite (http://tlc.discovery.com/fansites/weddingstory/articles/greek_07_01.html), if you don't believe me.

[easy e]

Maybe it wasn't even a wedding ring? After all, you say it was a simple gold band.

[rocking chair]

orthodox church puts the wedding ring on the right hand (hand of blessing and power) perhaps she is orthodox?

[whistlepig]

Well, that certainly cleared things up. :smack:

Thanks all. If I see her again I'll compliment her on one of her other rings and see if it leads to stories about each one.

Whistlepig

[Dogface]

My wedding ring migrates from hand to hand, often without me being consciously aware of the fiddling. It also gets quite uncomfortable for me to wear a ring on one finger for very long. I don't wear a wristwatch due to discomfort.

[chula]

Even if she's American, she may have married someone from one of the aforementioned cultures and is observing its customs.

[Zsofia]

My money would be on heirloom ring, though. I thought they were always worn on the right hand, actually. Although that may be a Southernism.

[Zazie]

In France for example we wear the ring on the left, Protestant and Catholics. But the ex-prime minister of France (I think!) had his wedding ring on the right and his religion was Orthodox, I always though Orthodox wore their wed. ring on the right...