25 years of marriage, a quarter century of marriage, is commonly called a silver wedding. This is not just a long term, most of which two people spent under the same roof - they ate, slept, watched movies, went to the store and made plans for the future. This date is primarily an indicator of such qualities of spouses as patience, respect, willingness to compromise, mutual assistance and understanding, and even friendship.
Love is a multifaceted feeling and capable of transformation. If at the beginning of a relationship it is usually a passion or at least a sexual attraction to each other, then at the turn of the quarter century it manifests itself quite differently. By this time, the husband and wife fully justify the popular proverb, characterizing them like this: "One Satan." Spouses become best friends and truly family people, without finding such shades of a relationship, marriage does not survive to such a long time.
What kind of wedding is this?
25 years - a silver wedding. This name half a century of family life dates back more than one or two centuries, the roots of the holiday go back to the Early Middle Ages, to the time when the institution of the family, so carefully nurtured by the Christian religion of all faiths, was already strong enough and really became a value and one of the pillars of society .
The names of the weddings did not appear at all by chance; they were formed by the type of gift material for the spouses. For example, on the first anniversary they presented a simple "expendable" fabric and products from it - the wedding was called a cotton print.
And the type of gifts and what they were made of, in turn, did not determine the number of years lived, but the needs of the family at the current stage of life. For example, in the “leather” wedding of a family of both ordinary people and feudal lords, they most needed the harness, the elements of tools and clothes made of this material, and even the hanging belts that could hold the cradle with the baby.
Of course, the longer people lived in the world, the less they needed “spending” gifts. Over the years, the need arose to acquire material values ​​that could emphasize the status of the family, its position in society and, of course, be inherited.
That is why the wedding anniversary at the age of 20 was called “porcelain”, and at 25 - “silver”.
Are there any traditions?
Each of the holidays has its own traditions, and 25 years of wedding is no exception. There are a lot of different features of the celebration of this date, literally every village had its own customs for holding this day.
Common traditions that are found almost everywhere include the following:
- the beginning of the day is a kiss: it was believed that if one of the spouses woke up earlier, got up and did not kiss the second half before rising, then joyful and difficult times are coming for the family;
- washing - should be done together and using “silver” water, this was a ritual washing off of all insults, secret grievances and complaints, all the bad things that happened over the years;
- the presence of sweets on the table: sweets should have been present in the diet all the time, and not just at the evening feast.
The wedding anniversary - 25 years - has much more historical customs, but in modern life, most of them are both irrelevant and difficult to implement. But today's realities have added a lot to the old custom that did not spoil the holiday, but rather expanded its scope and made it one of the most desirable for all married couples.
Modern holiday customs
The main of the traditions that have already become traditional in celebrating this anniversary is the repetition of the marriage ceremony and, of course, the departure on a romantic trip.
For the first time, a husband and wife from Texas celebrated a quarter century of marriage in the distant 1960. Local newspapers wrote about this, praising the original idea of ​​the celebration and the outfit of the bride. But the merit that the option of holding the anniversary was picked up all over the world does not belong to the press at all, but to the local television, which made a big hourly film and a series of news stories, telling about how all the guests who were at the original wedding were gathered, how the costumes were thought out, and the most important thing is how permission was obtained for the second wedding ceremony.
The Americans were touched by looking at the television screens, and the rating of a small channel from Dallas rose to incredible heights. European television companies drew attention to this nonsense, and the history of the heroes of the day won the audience on the other side of the ocean.
It is possible that 25 years of marriage were celebrated in this way even before the family from the Texas ranch, but it gave rise to the widespread custom to celebrate the anniversary this way.
What to do to children?
Unlike the porcelain anniversary, silver not only allows the active participation of children in the preparation of celebrations, but also welcomes this.
Children can participate both financially and act as direct organizers of the holiday. The most important condition for their participation is maximum attention to the wishes of the parents and the realization of the very scenario of celebration that the older generation prefers, rather than imposing their own vision.
Traditionally, it is children who purchase silver rings for their parents, this has been a common practice since the beginning of the holiday. This tradition should not be neglected, and everything else depends only on one’s own capabilities, imagination and wishes of the heroes of the day.
How to congratulate my husband?
25 years of wedding - a reason to surprise, but to surprise large-scale. This is not the day when you can spread playful notes around the apartment or hide funny trinkets in the most unexpected places.
A gift for a spouse from a woman, in addition to his perceptibility, must also correspond to such a concept as the mission only to the husband. That is, you can’t give, for example, a silver ashtray if both people smoke or someone living under the same roof as heroes of the anniversary. You should not give what the spouse does not use. For example, a person who has been smoking cigarettes all his life does not need to present a silver-plated pipe as a presentation, but a cigarette case or lighter is quite suitable.
That is, a woman on this day should give a gift to a man, and not to an abstract spouse created over the years by her ideas and interpretations. A gift should tell a person that he is loved and important, attentive to his desires and needs, and caring in the little things.
If the choice is difficult, or it is unpleasant for a woman to give something that her husband dreams of, then silver cufflinks will be an ideal option. It is advisable to add a new shirt to them, this will allow dressing up the husband for the gala evening in the same style.
How to congratulate my wife?
What to give a woman for 25 years of marriage is one of the nightmares of men. A strong half of humanity often leaves the choice of a presentation in the last days and eventually buys the first thing that comes to hand.
The secret of a good gift is simple. The presentation should be made of silver, intended exclusively for personal use and be complemented by flowers. In principle, the gift may not be silver, but contain an element of this material, in the most extreme case, be supplemented with a trinket made of metal.
What can not be given?
Congratulations on your wedding day in 25 years of marriage together completely exclude the following types of presents:
- Appliances;
- gadgets
- items for one of the family members;
- jewelry, with the exception of gifts given by spouses to each other and rings purchased by children;
- furniture;
- alcohol and food, even if it is a bottle of rare wine, the only one in the world.
The gift from those invited to the celebration should be significant, contain silver details or be made of this metal completely, not expendable and intended for both spouses. A traditional service is a good solution, however, like silver appliances, because that’s how family silver appeared in houses.
Nowadays, they often give money, this is a good option, you just need to correctly arrange such a gift - the envelope should be silver in color, with a postcard inside, containing a laconic wish and signature. However, such a present does not correspond to the traditions and foundations of the anniversary.
Do you need postcards?
Postcard is an indispensable and important element of congratulation. This is part of the presentation, which will persist and remind the anniversaries of the person who congratulated them. But, unfortunately, it is precisely about it that people often forget, as the invitees to the celebration themselves, as well as professional holiday organizers.
Postcards "25 Years of Wedding" should be appropriate. The best option would be a single copy made by hand, an elegant and simple greeting card, put in the appropriate envelope.
The congratulatory text should be short and concise, contain a listing of wishes and a signature. Poetic texts are also acceptable, but they should not be stereotyped. In an extreme case, it is better to take an excerpt that is meaningful from a famous work than to borrow lines from the Internet, which the heroes themselves will surely come across.
It is important to remember that the card is part of the presentation, but does not replace it with itself.
What is important at a banquet?
The tradition of this day is the presence of sweets in the family diet. Therefore, a banquet in the form of a main dish implies desserts, the main of which is, of course, a cake.
A cake for 25 years of wedding is not the final and, in general, unnecessary part of the feast, like on the day of the wedding, but the apotheosis of the whole celebration. With a competent professional approach to organizing an anniversary feast, the menu will be quite easy, regardless of the form in which the celebration is planned - a banquet, buffet, reception or some other form.
The cake does not appear at the end of the celebration, but at the beginning of its second part. The first half of the anniversary is devoted to gathering guests, giving gifts, congratulatory speeches, 5-10 toasts and light snacks.
After this comes the time of the cultural program, which includes a demonstration of various aspects of the life of the spouses, starting from the stage of their marriage. Of course, various contests and other fun are allowed. This is a kind of intermission, during which you can go out, visit the sanitary room, smoke or just ventilate.
After the entertaining part, a cake appears. It must be a masterpiece, made in the appropriate style and not decorated with figures of the groom and the bride. The right to cut remains with the anniversaries, but only if the confectionery product is not made up of many different cakes, which is extremely popular in Europe. In this case, the heroes of the day just take a cake.