Thirty-two anniversaries... and counting byWyn Evans I’m writing these lines on the day The Boss and I celebrate our thirty-second wedding anniversary. In fact, we never quite know whether to focus our celebrations on our wedding anniversary (23rd August) or the anniversary of how long we have been together as a couple (which was some twenty months before our wedding). Either way - thirty two years or thirty three and a half - it’s a tidy sum and worthy of celebration. The trouble is, it’s one of those ‘in-between’ anniversaries isn’t it? We consulted Wikipedia to see what we could glean. We learned that ‘the names of some anniversaries provide 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 Wood, 10th Tin, 15th Crystal, 20th China, 25th Silver, 30th Pearl, 35th Jade, 40th Ruby, 45th Sapphire, 50th Gold, 60th Diamond, and 70th Platinum’. It seems that ‘the modern tradition may have originated in Medieval Germany where, if a married couple lived to celebrate the 25th anniversary of their wedding, the
6 CARDIFF TIMES
wife was presented by her friends and neighbours with a silver wreath to congratulate them [on their] good fortune’. It seems that the origins of the current gift conventions date to 1937. The original lists that were drawn up in the 1920s linked themes to the most recognised anniversary years. The first ten years of marriage were picked out for recognition followed by every fifth marital year; thus only the 1st-10th, 15th, 20th, 25th, 50th, and 75th anniversaries had an associated gift. What happened in 1937 I hear you ask? Well, as far as I can tell, shopping and marketing happened. The American National Retail Jeweller Association introduced a more comprehensive list for wedding anniversary themes, and this is the one that is commonly followed today. Apparently, ‘each of the themes has been chosen for a special reason and represents the various stages that you pass through in your marriage’. So, just as much of the Christmas celebration has slipped away from its religious roots and become a shopping festival, so the ‘traditions’ surrounding the celebration of wedding anniversaries are strongly
