Wedding Anniversary Meanings – Where Did They Come From

Don’t you love traditions? The tradition of celebrating your wedding anniversary has been around a long time. Most are aware that there is an extensive list of traditional and modern symbols for each anniversary. So where did the wedding anniversary meanings originally come from?

The origin of the 25th wedding anniversary symbol, which is silver, can be traced back to medieval Germany. When a couple had been married for 25 years they were honored by a silver wreath being placed on the head of the wife. If a couple made it to 50 years of marriage a gold wreath was used – thus the golden anniversary was born!

Worldwide this has been adopted as the standard for wedding anniversary celebrations. The silver and golden wedding anniversaries are well known worldwide, but what about the other years meanings?

Throughout time different materials became associated with the various wedding anniversaries, and eventually it was put into one big list – the traditional anniversary symbols. Later on some felt the traditional list was out of date, a new list was started – the modern anniversary symbols.

Celebrating a wedding anniversary is one of the most common worldwide customs. What symbol are you up to?

List of Wedding Anniversaries:

1st Year… Traditional – Paper – Modern – Clock

2nd Year… Traditional – Cotton/Straw – Modern – China

3rd Year… Traditional – Leather – Modern – Crystal/Glass

4th Year… Traditional – Books/Flowers/Fruit – Modern – Linen/Silk

5th Year… Traditional – Wood – Modern – Silverware

6th Year… Traditional – Iron/Sugar – Modern – Wood

7th Year… Traditional – Copper/Wool – Modern – Desk set

8th Year… Traditional – Bronze/Pottery – Modern – Lace/Linen

9th Year… Traditional – Pottery/Willow – Modern – Leather

10th Year… Traditional – Aluminum/Tin – Modern – Diamond jewelry

11th Year… Traditional – Steel – Modern – Fashion jewelry

12th Year… Traditional – Linen/Silk – Modern – Color gems/Pearls

13th Year… Traditional – Lace – Modern – Furs/Textiles

14th Year… Traditional – Ivory – Modern – Gold jewelry

15th Year… Traditional – Crystal – Modern – Watches

20th Year… Traditional – China – Modern – Platinum

25th Year… Traditional – Silver – Modern – Silver

30th Year… Traditional – Pearls – Modern – Diamond jewelry

35th Year… Traditional – Coral – Modern – Jade

40th Year… Traditional – Ruby – Modern – Ruby

45th Year… Traditional – Sapphire Modern – Sapphire

50th Year… Traditional – Gold – Modern – Gold

55th Year… Traditional – Emerald – Modern – Emerald

60th Year… Traditional – Diamond – Modern – Diamond

70th Year… Traditional – Diamond/Platinum – Modern – Platinum

75th Year… Traditional – Diamond – Modern – Diamond

When celebrating your wedding anniversary it can make it all the more special when the associated gifts are followed. It also gives you a great starting point for gift ideas!

Along with the traditional and modern lists there are associated gemstones and flowers with each wedding anniversary.