Anniversary Gifts
Anniversary Gifts An Introduction
Anniversaries, women love them and men forget them. That may
seem like that is all there is to know about anniversaries and
anniversary gifts, but in fact, anniversaries not only have a
deep history, they are full of various traditions that can be
difficult for an individual to wrap their heads around.
Probably the best place to start is by looking where the
concept of celebrating wedding anniversaries came from.
The History of Anniversary
Gifts
As with any tradition, the origins of the wedding
anniversary come from a wide variety of sources, all coming
together over time to become the tradition we now know and
love.
Primarily, the practice of giving away
gifts on wedding anniversaries came about in Europe,
specifically in medieval Germany, where it was customary for
friends of the family to give the wife a wreath of silver when
she had been with her husband for a period of 25 years.
According to scholars, the wreath, specifically the silver,
symbolized the harmony that was assumed to be necessary to be
together for a quarter-century. On the 50th wedding
anniversary, the wife was given a wreath of gold, which is
where the terms silver and golden wedding anniversaries come
from.
Since that point, traditions have been built on the various
years a couple has been together; with types of gifts
corresponding with the number of years a couple has been
together.
Over time, these have changed with there now being traditional
anniversary gifts and modern anniversary gifts. For example,
the tenth wedding anniversary gift used to be tin or aluminum.
Obviously since buying a tin is not a great gift for your wife,
this has changed to diamond jewelry for the modern gift.
Prior to 1937, only the first and major (10th, 25th, 50th,
etc.) anniversaries were associated with gifts. This all
changed when the American National Retail Jewelry Associate
created a list of gifts for each year of marriage to the 15th,
and then every five years after that to the 60th.
Traditional Anniversary
Gifts
So what are the traditional wedding anniversary
gifts between husband and wife? There is no need to go
through them all, but here is a quick sampling. The first
year is paper, while the second, third and fourth years
are cotton, leather and fruit or flowers,
respectively.
The fifth year is wood and the sixth is candy or iron. The
tenth year, as has already been mentioned, is tin, while the
11th is steel. Crystal is the traditional gift of choice for
the 15th year, while China works for the 20th.
The quarter-century marker, fitting in with the German
tradition, is silver, while the 30th and 35th are coral and
ruby. The 45th is sapphire and the 50th goes with the German
tradition as well, with gold. The sixtieth wedding anniversary
is diamond, something every woman loves.
Modern Anniversary Gifts
The modern version of the anniversary gift list takes our
current considerations into account. For example, the 14th
traditional wedding anniversary gift is ivory, something that
would be highly inappropriate and unacceptable in our modern
world because of the near extinction of the elephant. Now, the
14th wedding anniversary gift is gold jewelry.
Here are some more modern anniversary gifts for a loved
one.
The first anniversary has changed to clocks, while the second
to fifth year gifts have changed as well. The second year is
now china, while the third, fourth and fifth are glass,
appliances and silverware, respectively.
The tenth year is now leather, while the 11th is jewelry.
Watches replace crystal on the 15th year, and platinum replaces
china for the 20th wedding anniversary.
The 25th year stays the same, due to the German tradition, but
the 30th and 35th wedding anniversary years are now diamond and
jade.
Sapphire is still the gift for the 45th wedding anniversary,
as is gold for the 50th.
The 60th wedding anniversary gift is no longer just diamonds,
but a diamond jubilee.
It may seem like a lot of information for a relatively
simple concept. There is no reason why you have to follow the
traditional or modern versions of the gifts. It is always best
to get presents that reflect the taste of your spouse and it
should make him or her happy, regardless of what the
traditional or modern present for that year is. Go with the
heart when you buy an anniversary gift and you cannot go
wrong.
Is it your first anniversary? Visit the First Anniversary Gifts
page
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