Have you ever wondered about some traditions that we blindly follow and think of its origin? Like the groom looking at his bride in wedding gown before the wedding is considered bad luck? Well where do they all start from? And who makes these rules?

The Conception of gift giving

The concept wedding anniversary gift giving was founded in the 1800’s in Europe. The practice was generally believed to mark special significance to the married couple. The reason was unknown but people preferred giving gifts to the wife rather than giving wedding anniversary gifts for him.

From thence people have many ideas on anniversary gifts, most people are of the opinion that the first year wedding anniversary should be celebrated with paper and flowers. As per the Greek custom, people followed the tradition of giving metal to commemorate the concept of wedding anniversary gift giving. For the wife who has been living with her husband for twenty five years a heath of silver was given. And the wife who had been living with her husband for fifty years, a heath of gold was given. During Queen Victoria’s reign she celebrated a period called the “Diamond Jubilee”. This was mainly due to the fact that she was able to hold position as Queen for that period of time. But somehow that idea came to be incorporated into the wedding anniversary gift giving practice.

The View in Modern Times

Having talked about the tradition it is important to also talk about how it is being viewed in the modern times. History marks special milestones like twenty five years, fifty years, sixty years and seventy five years, but don’t the couples who have battled side by side for sixteen years or forty years get any appreciation? The opinion of most jewelers’ is that it should not be the case. Any number of years should be a mark of celebration.

Another fact in recent times is the exorbitant prices of gold, and its continuous increase. Most men feel that they are not in a position to afford gold jewelry. But does that mean they love their wife less or that they don’t care enough about the wedding anniversary?

To overcome this most men have opted for suitable alternatives like buying their spouses cobalt jewelry as gifts. Another way a tradition has been improvised in modern times is where for the first anniversary the spouses buy each other tickets for the cinema theatre, ballet or they go on a trip. So the tradition of paper giving has been modernized. In addition to the fact that now there are wedding anniversary gifts for him, the husband too. As long as the couples appreciate each other wedding anniversary gift giving is no cause for concern.