Here in Perú right hand is the more common one. Ditto for priests and other religous people.
The only time I wore my ring on the left was just after I married. In the “saludo” people tend to sake your hand too strongly and, never having worn a ring, it would’ve hurt like hell.
From what I’ve seen while traveling, the right hand for a wedding band is more common in the sphere of Orthodox Christianity than in most of Western Europe (or the U.S.) The only U.S.-born person I am personal friends with is of Serbian/Ukrainian Orthodox heritage. She and her (Greek-American) husband always wear their rings on the right hand.
I’m glad it’s not the norm where I live to switch rings form one hand to the other upon marriage; my left and right ring fingers are different by a full size!
I’d say they’re more stylish by a hair.
Wesson?
…
In England, the appearance of wedding rings for men is a relatively recent phenomenon. In his 1996 book, “Debrett’s New Guide to Etiquette & Modern Manners,” the etiquette expert John Morgan wrote that in Britain “it is customary for the bride alone to sport a wedding ring, and although some brides have adopted the Continental habit of presenting the groom with his own band during the vows, this remains not quite comme il faut.’”
Here in Aus it was common for “Europeans” to wear a “wedding band” on both hands. One hand for family and tradition – and the other hand so as to make their status clear to skips, pommy bastards, kiwis and other misc anglo-australians.
I haven’t noticed recently.
“skips”?
“pommy [bastards or otherwise]?”
“skips” = skippy the bush kangaroo = anglo background with aus-born parents.
“pommy bastards” = post-war English / British migrants
I won’t list the contrasting terms, but note that there is a long tradition of Australians calling each other names as part of frendship rites, so you should start with the assumption that any insults are well intented.
In my wife’s Rio de Janeiro culture, couples would wear their wedding bands on their right hands during the engagement, and once married would switch the band to the left hand. I don’t know if this is strictly a regional custom or more widespread in Brazil.
It made sense to me, so that’s what we did.
Debretts speaks for the upper classes rather than normal human beings. Most British married men wear bands, and my father has worn one since his wedding in 1952.
So-- and I’ve been wondering this for a month – then who did name Mr Smith’s legs?
Maybe the carpenter named the wooden one? I wonder why he chose ‘Smith’
It was pretty uncommon until after the war. (Prince Philip does not wear one).
If that “the war” means WWII, Debrett’s notions of what is (present tense) customary seem to be a bit behind the times.