Amish do not wear jewelry
The wedding ring is an important symbol of marriage in modern culture.
However Amish married couples do not wear wedding rings, or jewelry in general. Jewelry is seen as drawing attention to the body and thus encouraging pride.
When an Amish couple is married, the officiating Bishop will place his hands upon the couples’ clasped hands and give a blessing (Amish Society, John Hostetler, p. 195). But Amish do not carry or wear anything commemorating their union.
However, in many communities men begin growing beards upon marriage, and women’s dress may change as well too. An Amish woman may wear a different color prayer covering on her head.
Amish may also receive personalized wedding presents including their names and the marriage date, such as a porch planter or bench furniture.
Despite the lack of a symbolic ring, Amish treat marriage as a lifelong commitment. Read more about typical Amish marriage age, and what Amish think about divorce.
Photo credit: Ruddington Photos
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8 responses to Do Amish wear wedding rings?
There is a woman in the Amish community near me who wears one. I see her once in a while when I got into the Bent-n-Dent store and have noticed it on her several times.
I first saw mention of it here: http://www.oasisnewsfeatures.com/editor/wisconsin-amish
After reading that, I paid closer attention when I went in and noticed this too. Interesting.
Amish wedding rings - what a tradition
I do not know how to react to this, other than, I respect their view-point. I like the tradition of wedding bands,even if they are simple. However, this is largely culturally determined. I wonder how many cultures in the world wear wedding rings or is it a European Americas thing?
http://kibblesbits.wordpress.com
Not sure if it is a European American thing or not. Quakers aren’t huge on rings, or jewelry, either, but for most it is a personal choice. Sometimes I will wear one, my husband does not. (For safety reasons more than anything in his case.) I don’t feel weird without a ring, something I hear a lot of people mention if they lose one or don’t put it on or anything like that, and I’ve heard people get VERY upset if a partner loses it, more than losing any other piece of jewelry. That in itself is enough to not want to wear one, if you get so caught up in the symbolism that the loss of a ring is a serious problem in a relationship…
Do Amish wear wedding rings?
My husband is from the UK…he said that at least it is uncommon for men to wear wedding rings (at least in his part of the country). He found it strange when I said we needed to go wedding ring shopping for him.
I do have my ring/wedding band, but I rarely wear it except special occasions. Part of it has to do with me having a somewhat forgetful mind and I’ve nearly lost it on more than one occasion. Another reason is I’m a fairly active person, and I don’t want to get my ring grungy with sweat/dirt etc. But to be honest, I don’t feel like I have anything to prove to the world either. I’m commited to my husband, he knows that and I know he is commited to me. We have so many other things to be concerned about other than if we’re wearing our rings!
Do Amish wear wedding rings?
Amish wedding rings
While volunteering at the local thrift store in Millersburg, OH, I met a young Swartzentruber woman who wore a plan metal band on her left ring finger. She saw me looking at it and just smiled at me. I didn’t want to be rude and ask her about it. I did ask other volunteers, and they said she had frequented the store before and they understood that she was married.
Bruce
Amish wearing copper arthritis rings
Bruce, great anecdote. That sounds like a copper arthritis ring. One of those remedies that would be more common in more conservative groups like the Swartzentrubers.
There’s a medical justification so this would be about the only “jewelry” Amish would wear, if you’d call it that. Thanks for bringing this up.
Other groups who don't necessarily wear wedding rings
It used to be common for Seventh-Day Adventists to not wear wedding rings or other jewelry. When a young couple became engaged, the man would give the woman a nice watch. Useful jewelry like a watch was ok, but not jewelry for decoration. There is a SDA university near our city. When the university’s orchestra went on tour to Russia many years ago, the married couples in the orchestra were told that they would have to wear wedding rings or the their hosts for their homestays would not allow them to stay in the same room. Many SDAs wear wedding rings now.
Do Amish wear wedding rings?
I’ve heard commentary and lore that the Amish might not wear wedding rings, but they have other expressions of their union and commitment. Men grow beards as a mark of being married, and women seem to often wear head-coverings that has a ribbon or whatever you prefer to call it, that can be tied (if it is untied she is unwed, if its tied she is married). They show their marriage and availabilities using these cues, don’t they?
Do Amish wear wedding rings?
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