You have met the person you wish to spend the rest of your life with and are ready to pop that all important question “will you marry me?” Traditionally a marriage proposal is marked with the giving of an engagement ring, but have you ever
You have met the person you wish to spend the rest of your life with and are ready to pop that all important question “will you marry me?” Traditionally a marriage proposal is marked with the giving of an engagement ring, but have you ever wondered why we do this? Anthropologists believe that the tradition of giving an engagement ring dates back to the time of the Ancient Egyptians nearly 5,000 years ago. They believed that circles symbolised eternity the hole in the centre of the ring signified never ending and immortal love for the woman wearing the ring. To mark this belief, Egyptian men gave their wife to be a handmade ring made out of twisted and braided reeds, sedges and papyrus. Naturally these rings did not last long and were often replaced with engagement rings made from other natural elements such as leather, bone or ivory with the more expensive the material of the engagement ring signifying the wealth of the giver. The tradition of wearing an engagement ring on the left hand ring finger is also thought to date back to the Ancient Egyptians as they believed that an engagement ring worn on the ring finger would ignite eternal love as there is a vein that runs directly to the heart. This vein was later called the ‘Vena amoris’ by Latin philosopher Macr