Jason Hennessey asked:


Modern day marriages are seemingly harder to keep together without necessarily finding fault that requires a divorce. With the current divorce rates rising by the day, people are suffering from too much pressure at their workplaces and the demands on the home front given very little attention to warrant constant wrangles between married couples. But that does not mean that we should despair. We have a lot to be thankful for all the years that we share together as a couple and as such, every anniversary should be celebrated as a great milestone and what better way to celebrate like having special gifts for each other for the occasion?

Like all wedding traditions, gift giving has a history that is guided by the years that the two of you have been married. For example, a 25 years old marriage is supposed to be your silver jubilee and hence gifts of silver should be shared among the couples. This may sound rather extravagant but it goes with the importance that you place on your marriage, and believe me, 25 years is a long time, its not just silverware you should be giving each other.

The Symbols started as an informal way of sharing gifts by married couples and there was really no particular order until it started spreading around as a fresh idea as things took order and relevance. Then there was obviously a change when the calendar was introduced across borders as people chose to be selective and made their own changes here and there hence the traditional and the modern symbols.

Below are the symbols that most gift shops around the world go by and are found in a gift calendar that was established in the United States of America then spread to United Kingdom with particular modifications, although the Germans are said to have had such an arrangement earlier on.

The first ten years

Traditional Modern

1 Paper Clocks

2 Cotton China

3 Leather Crystal

4 Fruit & flowers Electrical appliances

5 Wood Silverware

6 Candy or iron Wood

7 Wool & copper Desk sets

8 Bronze & pottery Linens & lace

9 Pottery & willow Leather

10 Tin or aluminum Diamond jewelry

The next 11 – 20 years

11 Steel Fashion jewelry

12 Silk & linen Colored gems, especially pearls

13 Lace Textiles or furs

14 Ivory Gold jewelry

15 Crystal Watches

20 China Platinum

Later Years

25 Silver Silver

30 Pearl Diamond

35 Coral Jade

40 Ruby Ruby

45 Sapphire Sapphire

50 Gold Gold

55 Emerald Emerald

60 Diamond Diamond

Creativity is also encouraged and the gift does not have to be very expensive. Remember that the gesture is symbolic, a celebration of a wonderful life together, your togetherness all these years later and as such, you have 365 days between anniversaries to plan your next gift. If you’re traditional and your spouse prefers the modern approach, you can still use the different calendar differences as a guide.

Some can be combined or accessorized to feature aspects of both for example, you can have a small steel jewelery box customized or engraved with her initials or name and when she opens it, she finds a well assembled collection of fashion jewels. Whatever you do, don’t spend too much to make you miserable much later.