Evening Republican, Volume 22, Number 171, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 22 July 1919 — EXPLAINED ONLY BY THEORY [ARTICLE]

EXPLAINED ONLY BY THEORY

Origin of Band Called th* Wedding Ring Is Wrapped in th* Deepest Obscurity. Why is a wedding ring? Why does a man slip a ring on the finger of the woman who become* his bride? Why doesn’t he give her a bracelet or a necklace, or a pair of earrings? Why is a ring rhe universal symbol used at weddings? And what is it a symbol of? Ever stop to think about all this? Probably not. When you were ready to marry, you hustb-d off to the Dearest jeweler’s and bought a ring for your bride, and. as far as you were concerned, that ended the matter. The origin of. the wedding ring is wrapped in obscurity. A number of theories have been advanced to explain it.. One harks back to ancient Egypt. Before the time of mints and coinage in Egypt, gold money was made in the form of a ring, and the fingers of a man’s hands were his most convenient bank. He wore his money. When an enamored swain slipped one of these money rings on hts bride's finger, he did it to symbolise that he gave her not only himself, but his fortune. He meant. In fact, just wbat the modern bridegroom means when he says in the ceremony of the ring at the altar, “With all my worldly goods I thee endow.” The styles today are bands of gold or platinum, plain or engraved, for wedding rings, ami solitaire or cluster rings of any kind of gems, preferably diamonds or pearls, for engagement rings.