- What is the wedding anniversary?
- Origin of wedding anniversaries
- Types of anniversary according to the years of marriage
- Monthly anniversaries of the first year of marriage
We explain what a wedding anniversary is, how it originated and what types are celebrated. Also, the monthly anniversaries of the first year.
What is the wedding anniversary?
A wedding anniversary is the annual celebration of the day of the formalization of the marriage, that a couple decides to remember in order to renew the feelings that unite them. On this date, the spouses usually give each other gifts, organize celebrations or commemorative activities, often in relation to the history of love shared. It is also usual for the celebrants to receive congratulations (and even gifts) from their relatives and relatives.
Wedding anniversaries are among the most common and popular personal celebration dates, similar to birthdays and name days. However, the way it is celebrated may vary according to the culture and also to the number of years of marriage, so that the more time together, the greater the celebration.
Origin of wedding anniversaries
Wedding anniversaries were not always celebrated: in the medieval In the Western world it was not even usual for commoners to get married, but simply gathered under the same roof. Marriage was reserved for the nobility, as a way to formalize and cement the common political and economic project of two families. aristocratic, especially when they came from two different and often enemy nations.
In this way, wedding anniversaries were usually celebrated because they constituted a founding event of governments or even of nations, that is, a date on which two noble houses came together to become more powerful, or two rival nations joined their thrones. to overcome their differences. More than an emotional and family procedure, marriage was a political procedure.
But from Renaissance, the world of the nobility was slowly replaced by that of the bourgeoisie, and many commoner but wealthy families could rise to the nobility through marriage. Thus, this institution became popular, especially among the emerging middle class, and the custom to celebrate their anniversary was broadcast to the common people.
Types of anniversary according to the years of marriage
Around the marriage and the celebration of its anniversary, numerous traditions and different symbols. One of the most popular has to do with the association of certain particular anniversaries with a certain material, so that the longer the time together, the nobler and more valuable the material with which the bond between the spouses is represented.
This custom responds to European medieval traditions, in which the nobles gave each other gifts of valuable materials as the marriage lengthened, as a gesture of celebration and a reminder of the power and abundance that the union had brought them. For example, after 50 years together, the couple gave each other gold objects and ornaments, meaning that their union had acquired immense value over time. Thus, the couple celebrated their "golden wedding".
Traditionally, years of marriage are associated with the following materials:
| years of marriage | Material |
| 1 year | Paper (Paper Weddings) |
| 2 years | Cotton (Cotton Weddings) |
| 3 years | Leather (Leather Weddings) |
| 4 years | Linen (Linen Weddings) |
| 5 years | Wood (Wooden Weddings) |
| 6 years | Iron (Iron Weddings) |
| 7 years | Wool (Wool Weddings) |
| Eight years | Bronze (Bronze Wedding) |
| 9 years | Clay (Clay Weddings) |
| 10 years | Aluminum (Aluminum Weddings) |
| 11 years | Steel (Steel Wedding) |
| 12 years | Silk (silk weddings) |
| 13 years | Lace (Lace Weddings) |
| 14 years | Ivory (Ivory Weddings) |
| 15 years | Crystal (Crystal Wedding) |
| 16 years | Ivy (Ivy Weddings) |
| 17 years | Wallflower (Wallpaper Weddings) |
| 18 years | Quartz (Quartz Weddings) |
| 19 years | Honeysuckle (Honeysuckle Weddings) |
| 20 years | Porcelain (Porcelain Weddings) |
| 21 years | Oak (Oak Weddings) |
| 22 years | Copper (Copper Weddings) |
| 23 years | Water (Water Weddings) |
| 24 years | Granite (Granite Weddings) |
| 25 years | Silver (Silver Anniversary) |
| 26 years | Roses (Weddings of roses) |
| 27 years | Jet (Jet Weddings) |
| 28 years | Amber (Amber Weddings) |
| 29 years | Garnet (Garnet Weddings) |
| 30 years | Pearl (Pearl Weddings) |
| 31 years | Ebony (Ebony Weddings) |
| 32 years | Copper (Copper Weddings) |
| 33 years | Tin (Tin Weddings) |
| 34 years | Poppy (Poppy Weddings) |
| 35 years | Coral (Coral Weddings) |
| 36 years | Flint (Flint Weddings) |
| 37 years | Stone (Stone wedding) |
| 38 years | Jade (Jade Weddings) |
| 39 years | Agate (Agate Weddings) |
| 40 years | Ruby (Ruby Weddings) |
| 41 years | Topaz (Topaz Weddings) |
| 42 years | Jasper (Jasper Weddings) |
| 43 years | Opal (Opal Weddings) |
| 44 years | Turquoise (Turquoise Weddings) |
| 45 years | Sapphire (Sapphire Weddings) |
| 46 years | Mother-of-pearl (Mother-of-pearl weddings) |
| 47 years | Amethyst (Amethyst Weddings) |
| 48 years | Feldspar (Feldspar Weddings) |
| 49 years | Zircon (Zircon Weddings) |
| 50 years | Gold (Golden Anniversary) |
| 55 years | Emerald (Emerald Weddings) |
| 60 years | Diamond (Diamond wedding) |
| 65 years | Platinum (Platinum Weddings) |
| 70 years | Titanium (Titanium Weddings) |
Monthly anniversaries of the first year of marriage
Just as the years of marriage are celebrated, many people like to celebrate the months of the first year of marriage, which is why names have been given to each monthly "anniversary":
| Month of the first year of marriage | monthly “anniversary” |
| 1st month | "Anniversary" of the kiss |
| 2nd month | ice cream "anniversary" |
| 3rd month | Cotton Candy “Anniversary” |
| 4th month | Popcorn “Anniversary” |
| 5th month | Chocolate “anniversary” |
| 6th month | "Anniversary" of pens |
| 7th month | glitter “anniversary” |
| 8th month | Pompom “Anniversary” |
| 9th month | maternity “anniversary” |
| 10th month | gourmet “anniversary” |
| 11th month | "Anniversary" of chewing gum |
| 12th month | first wedding anniversary |