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I know here, they wear it on the right hand. But since gotten married almost 3 years ago, i’ve been wearing my engagement & wedding rings on the left hand finger. They were even sized according to that finger.
However, during a recent weekend gathering at my in-laws’, a couple of people (cousins of my husband actually), were pointing it out and asking why i was wearing them on the ‘wrong’ side of the hand. I told them that is how i wear the rings all this while, as how my parents, sister and friends do back in my country. But then, with a sarcasting smirk, one of them said, that is not the case here in Austria, where everything is still normal compared to the rest of the world.
So, dont ask me what she meant by that. As i wasnt even interested to ask her myself. All that i felt at that time was to smash the skillet that i had in my hand onto her face.
My husband himself wasnt even bothered on which hand i wear those rings. So, just wanna know those of you who are married to Austrian or German especially..on which side of the hand do you wear yours – left or right?
This exact question as to “Why do most of the Austrians, as well as many of the Bavarians, wear their wedding rings on the right hand?” has also eluded me for many years. I have asked many Austrians why this is but no one knew the answer. Then about a month ago a friend of mine here told me the answer to that very question. She said that wearing the wedding ring on the right hand means you are Catholic and when you wear it on the left hand you are Protestant. Now this makes sense to me since Austria is about 75% Catholic and 5% Protestant as well as the majority of Bavaria is Catholic.
Now concerning myself my husband and I wear our wedding rings on our right hand. We were married in 2000 and back then we both had no idea what it meant wearing your wedding ring on the right or left hand. We just went with the right hand. I was raised catholic and survived 12 years of catholic schools but I haven’t been a practicing catholic since 1974. So wearing my wedding ring on my right hand doesn’t mean I am a catholic. To me it means that I am following an Austrian tradition.
There are lots of explanations on the internet, including conflicting versions about the right/left hand in Austria. See wikipedia for “wedding ring” and this discussion board: http://boards.weddingbee.com/topic/eastern-europeans-wear-rings-on-right-hand
I was married in north america, in a roman catholic ceremony, and, as of tomorrow, have been wearing mine on the left hand for 40 years. Never ever heard this question. More cultural education. Thanks.
I got married to an Austrian in 1999 and i always have it on myleft hand, and do not give a rats what people here think, my wife has it on her right hand and so what! like you my new sister in law ask why and said something about if it is on the left then it means you are divorced i simply said well left is for love right is for spite hencei pitty your husband ha ha and left it at that i do not give a care in the world what other people think andnor should you live life the way you whish to 😀 😀 😀
I had read somewhere that we wear it on the left hand because old, traditional beliefs were that the left ring finger had a special, direct connection to the heart (Vena amoris: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vena_amoris)
We know now medically that isn’t true but old traditions remain….
@kiwibev wrote:
I got married to an Austrian in 1999 and i always have it on myleft hand, and do not give a rats what people here think, my wife has it on her right hand and so what! like you my new sister in law ask why and said something about if it is on the left then it means you are divorced i simply said well left is for love right is for spite hencei pitty your husband ha ha and left it at that i do not give a care in the world what other people think andnor should you live life the way you whish to 😀 😀 😀
If it is on your left you are windowed I thought. When Austrians ask why I have my wedding ring on my left I tell them I killed my wife for asking too many questions. 😈
I married an Austrian and there was never a question about which hand it would be worn on. I choose left because that’s the British tradition and it hurts to wear it on the right when shaking hands. She also choose left because she used a lot of glass equipment at work (clink clink) and she also doesn’t give a rat’s ass about the opinions of other Austrians.
@Luvwines wrote:
If it is on your left you are windowed I thought.
As in, thrown out of one?? :confused:
It is interesting to read your blog post and I am going to share it with my friends.
The story of wearing your wedding ring on the left hand can be traced back to ancient times (really!). In that era, the Romans believed that the vein in the ring finger (the fourth finger) on the left hand ran directly to one’s heart. Because of this belief, they called that vein the “vena amoris” or vein of love.
I wear my wedding ring on the left hand,too. and I do not feel any ashamed for any difference!
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