Wedding Ring on the Third Finger of the Left Hand (Bethany Burns)

Title: Wedding Ring on the Third Finger of the Left Hand

General Information about Item:

Informant Data:

Harriette Hogue was born on March 23, 1940 in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Her mother was a schoolteacher and her father was an actuary. She lived in Chattanooga for the majority of her life, attended college in Chattanooga, Tennessee at the University of Chattanooga. She met her husband, Billy Hogue, at a sorority party at the University of Chattanooga. Billy lived in Fort Worth, Texas for most of his life and attended the Texas Tech before ending up in Chattanooga working for a bank. They both shared religious values, with Harriette attending the Episcopal Church growing up while Billy attended the Methodist Church growing up. Billy was willing to attend the Episcopal Church with Harriette once they married.

Contextual Data:

Cultural Context: In the United States, most married couples wear a wedding band, or a ring, on the third finger of their left hand. This is considered the “ring finger,” and is a sign of marriage.
Social Context: The informant brought up this item when asked about some of the biggest takeaways from her marriage after the day itself. She explained she had great pride in wearing her wedding ring, even though she had an engagement ring in the months leading up to the wedding, because her husband also had one. She felt that the bond between them was significant and the wedding ring symbolized that.

Item:

The wedding ring, or wedding band as it is sometimes referred to, is worn on the third finger of the left hand because it was thought that a vein ran up that finger to the heart. Therefore, having the wedding band on that finger touched the heart indirectly with the eternal love from the wedding band.

Transcript:

“When Billy put my ring on, I immediately had chills. I felt like that was the moment when I truly felt married. Waking up the next morning and seeing the band on his finger made me feel like we were in unison and together. Even as we lived our lives years and years after the wedding, every once in a while I would look at his hand and think about the promise we made each other, and I felt so lucky to be married to such a great man.”

Collector’s Comments:

The informant spoke with such great passion about her ring and her marriage. Her husband died a few years ago, and she still wears her rings.

Collector’s Name: Bethany

Tags/Keywords:

Dartmouth Folklore Archive