| Meaning Of A Promise Ring |
A promise ring symbolizes a promise or commitment between two people. Promise rings can be given for almost any type of promise made and need not be limited to promises made for engagement or weddings. Having said this, we would also like to mention that the reason for giving or accepting a promise ring should be well understood by both persons. This is to avoid a misunderstanding by either person as to the true intention for giving or receiving a promise ring. This could alter the entire significance or meaning of the promise ring.
| Why Are Promise Rings Given Or Exchanged? |
As mentioned above in the paragraph on meaning of the promise ring, such rings can be given for any promise or commitments made and need not be limited to matrimonial commitments. There are few main reasons for giving or exchanging promise rings and the meaning of the promise ring will depend on each individual case. Pre-engagement promise rings are given when two individuals have decided that they will be getting engaged and then married in the future. It happens when two individuals have decided to live together in the future but do not want an official engagement or marriage at the current time. This is the most common meaning for promise rings and in most cases, such promise rings are replaced by the engagement or wedding ring later on. For such promise rings, an exchange of rings between the man and lady is very common. Purity promise rings have a slightly different meaning as they symbolize a commitment or promise to remain chaste or abstain from something. A good example is when a parent gives a purity promise ring to a child and it is meant to symbolize a promise by the child, to remain sexually pure until marriage. In the U.S and Europe the idea of liberal sexual behaviour is slowly going out of fashion and the symbol of purity promise rings are getting to be more relevant. A similar meaning for promise rings is the purity ring given to symbolize, abstinence from certain bad virtues like drinking or smoking. Friendship is one of the most obvious reasons for which a promise ring might be given. The meaning of a promise ring in such a case, would not relate to any romantic affair, but rather signify a commitment to always be there for each other in times of need. The friend who receives such a promise ring could be living next door or far away in another country, there is no relevance to geographical distance separating two friends. It is very important that both friends understand the true meaning of such a promise ring, there should not be room for misunderstanding where, either friend misinterprets the ring as showing romantic intentions. Religious promise rings are another type of rings that need special mention. Such rings could be worn by a group of believers of a particular saint or religion. The meaning of the promise ring in such a case would be a commitment to follow the teachings or beliefs of the religion or saint in daily life. We have devoted a paragraph below to explain the real significance and meaning of religious promise rings.
| What Are Religious Promise Rings? |
Simply put, a religious promise ring would symbolize something that a person is willing to do to show religious devotion. For example, followers of a particular religion or saint might wear a promise ring and make a commitment to follow the path of truth and practise the preachings of that saint. The meaning of the promise ring in such a case would be similar to all followers in the group and they might even gather together at special prayer meetings etc. Like most promise rings, a religious promise ring would involve a commitment for a lifetime in most cases.
| Can Men Wear Promise Rings? |
This is a question that is asked very often and the answer is quite simple. Given the true meaning of a promise ring and the significance of the occassion or commitment for which they are worn, there is no reason why men should not wear a promise ring. Depending on the reason for the wearing of promise rings, men's promise rings could be worn as pre-engagement rings or as purity promise ring, as friendship promise rings and also as religious promise rings. While the meaning of promise rings worn by men would be the same as for those worn by ladies, the difference would be mainly in the size and weight of men's promise rings. Men take far less care of their jewelry as compared to the ladies and this would mean that promise rings worn by men would need to be more sturdy and durable. In cases where promise rings mean a pre-engagement relationship, it is common for the lady and man to wear promise rings with similar designs, such rings are commonly referred to as promise ring pairs.
| Promise Rings On Which Finger? |
Though the meaning of a promise ring does not change much depending on which finger it is worn, it is always better to give a little thought when choosing the finger to wear a promise ring. The idea is to avoid any misunderstanding that could arise when wearing a promise ring. We need to clarify the term 'ring finger' before we move ahead. The ring finger is believed to be the third finger and the reasons for calling this the ring finger are as follows. Many people believe that the third finger is well protected by fingers on either side and that it is not very actively used as compared to the thumb and other fingers. This makes it ideally suited for wearing promise rings (certain cases) and other rings as well. The more romantic explanation for this belief is that there is a 'vein of love' that runs directly from this ring finger to the heart. This ancient belief referred to the 'vena amori', that means vein of love and it's connection to the heart.
Here are some recommendations for choosing the finger to wear your promise ring. Pre-engagement Promise Rings should ideally be worn on the ring finger of the left hand. This promise ring is then replaced with the engagement ring at the time of engagement. There are some people who believe that the wearing of a promise ring on the left hand ring finger could be confusing as, people could mistake it for an engagement ring! You will therefore find quite a few people wearing their Pre-engagement Promise Ring on the ring finger of the right hand. A Purity Promise Ring is worn as a symbol of commitment made for sexual abstinence or abstinence from other habits like drinking or smoking. When the wearing of a promise ring means sexual abstinence, the ring should ideally be worn on the left hand ring finger as it would then be replaced by a wedding band after marriage. If a purity promise ring is worn to commit abstinence from other habits or substances, it can be worn on any finger but the left hand ring finger is preferred. Friendship Promise Rings are given or exchanged between platonic friends (very close friends with no romantic relationships). To hold the right meaning of such promise rings, they can be worn on any finger including the thumb. However, it is best to exclude the left ring finger to eliminate any misinterpretation or misunderstanding of romantic intentions.
| Origins Of The Promise Ring |
Social life in the ancient times had betrothals as a vital part of life. The origins of the promise ring evolved from the practice of betrothals which was quite different from an engagement. In Biblical terms a betrothal was a contract made through a public announcement. The contract covered financial arrangements and other similar affairs. The parties to the contract could not back away from it and the betrothal was legally binding. The actual wedding would take place after several months but the betrothal contract was a commitment to marriage in the future. A ring would be given by the man to the lady as part of the betrothal ceremony and the ring would be a symbol of his promise to marry her. These are the earliest recordings of the promise ring.
There is also another type of ring called the gimmal ring that is related to betrothal ceremonies. The gimmal ring is a type of promise ring and is infact made up of two or three separate rings. These rings can be worn together or separately and this ring style became popular in the 16th century. During the betrothal ceremony one of these parts is worn by the bride-to-be and one by the bridegroom-to-be. In cases where the gimmal promise ring is made up of three parts, the third part of the ring is given to a person who would be witness to the promise and the ceremony. The two or three parts of the gimmal promise ring are put together during the wedding ceremony and worn by the bride.
http://www.newsletter.kaijewels.com/meaning-promise-ring-kj-01.htm
0 comments:
Post a Comment