If anything, the case of the midwife tying the red string on Zerach’s hand proves that there is no general custom to wear such a thing. She tied it there because there were twins and it was important to know which was born first. The younger brother obviously would not wear it, and presumably neither would the older brother, once each could be identified without external help.
In any case, as mentioned, that red string was for a simple, pragmatic purpose: to identify the firstborn. The red string worn by many people today, as rightwriter pointed out, is for a superstition. As I mentioned earlier, this is Assur.
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