So you just got married? Congratulations! In your current state of marital bliss you are probably unable to think of any wedding anniversaries years down the road, and that’s okay. But – they will hopefully arrive, one after the other, and there are some traditions attached to them. Everyone has certainly heard of the “silver anniversary,” the 25-year mark of a marriage, right? But there’s a lot more to it, and it’s by no means new.
The tradition originated in medieval Germany, actually with this “silver anniversary:” if a married couple lived to celebrate the 25th anniversary of their wedding, the wife was presented by her friends and neighbours with a silver wreath to congratulate them for the good fortune that had prolonged the lives of the couple for so many years. (And that was definitely a reason to celebrate, given that the average life expectancy at the time was circa 37 years!).
And on celebration of the 50th anniversary, the wife received a wreath of gold. Over time the number of symbols expanded, and the German tradition came to assign gifts that had direct connections with each stage of married life.
The names of some anniversaries provide some guidance for appropriate or traditional gifts for the spouses to give each other; if there is a party these can be brought by the guests or influence the theme or decoration.
These gifts vary in different countries, but some years have well-established connections now common to most nations: 5th Wooden, 10th Tin, 15th Crystal, 20th China, 25th Silver, 30thPearl, 40th Ruby, 50th Golden, 60th Diamond.
The symbols have changed over time. For example in the United Kingdom, diamond was a well known symbol for the 75th anniversary, but this changed to the now more common 60th anniversary after Queen Victoria‘s 60 years on the throne was widely marked as her Diamond Jubilee.
The origins of the current gift conventions date to 1937. Before that, only the 1st, 5th, 10th, 15th, 20th, 25th, 50th, and 75th anniversaries had an associated gift. In 1937, the American National Retail Jeweler Association (now known as Jewelers of America as a result of an organizational merger) introduced an expanded list of gifts. The revamped list gave a gift for each year up to the 20th, and then for every fifth anniversary after that.
The tradition originated in medieval Germany, actually with this “silver anniversary:” if a married couple lived to celebrate the 25th anniversary of their wedding, the wife was presented by her friends and neighbours with a silver wreath to congratulate them for the good fortune that had prolonged the lives of the couple for so many years. (And that was definitely a reason to celebrate, given that the average life expectancy at the time was circa 37 years!).
And on celebration of the 50th anniversary, the wife received a wreath of gold. Over time the number of symbols expanded, and the German tradition came to assign gifts that had direct connections with each stage of married life.
The names of some anniversaries provide some guidance for appropriate or traditional gifts for the spouses to give each other; if there is a party these can be brought by the guests or influence the theme or decoration.
These gifts vary in different countries, but some years have well-established connections now common to most nations: 5th Wooden, 10th Tin, 15th Crystal, 20th China, 25th Silver, 30thPearl, 40th Ruby, 50th Golden, 60th Diamond.
The symbols have changed over time. For example in the United Kingdom, diamond was a well known symbol for the 75th anniversary, but this changed to the now more common 60th anniversary after Queen Victoria‘s 60 years on the throne was widely marked as her Diamond Jubilee.
The origins of the current gift conventions date to 1937. Before that, only the 1st, 5th, 10th, 15th, 20th, 25th, 50th, and 75th anniversaries had an associated gift. In 1937, the American National Retail Jeweler Association (now known as Jewelers of America as a result of an organizational merger) introduced an expanded list of gifts. The revamped list gave a gift for each year up to the 20th, and then for every fifth anniversary after that.
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