Why It s Important To Cherish Our Anniversaries

What would marriage be if not for the annual celebratory ritual we have all come to know as the anniversary? Today, an anniversary is right up there with the biggest money-making gift-giving holidays, but it wasn t always this way.

Centuries ago, a married couple really only celebrated the true milestone years those years for which two of the most precious metals were given. If a couple lasted 25 years together, they gave to one another the gift of silver. And if they lasted 50 years, gold was their reward.


Back then, staying married 25 or 50 years was much easier than it is today, if you were lucky enough to live that long. In fact, staying married was practically mandatory as divorce was virtually unheard of back in the Dark Ages (and even, ironically, during the Age of Enlightenment ). Couples used to stay together regardless of their love for one another.

Today it s a whole different story. Hardly anyone gets gold or silver anymore because few individuals make it that far in marriage. It s amazing the number of once-married couples that don t even get to scratch their 7-year itches! I remember how shocked I was to find out how many of my classmates already had been divorced by the time we had all gotten together for our 10-year class reunion.

Today s soaring divorce rate is probably the reason why those Anniversary Gift guides have been so frequently updated to better reflect modern times. With married couples lasting fewer and fewer years, there s been a push to get the good gifts much sooner. Have you noticed? Now you can get diamonds as early as your 10-year wedding anniversary! Diamonds are probably a much better gift than tin, but you weren t supposed to get another diamond until your 60th anniversary! Makes you stop and think who s behind all this change.

All joking aside, an anniversary is supposed to be an important time. It s supposed to be a time to cherish and a time to reflect back on what brought two people together in the first place. Now I m not talking about the sex on the beach or the fuzzy nipples or the screaming orgasms (I m talking here about the alcoholic beverages so get your mind up out of the gutter!); I m thinking of the camaraderie, the flirtation and the spontaneity.

An anniversary is also supposed to be a time to look towards the future, to make plans and goals and to chart a course for your future together. Looking forward and back are the main reasons why it s important to cherish our anniversaries.

Let s face it. If you re married, regardless of whether it s been 20 years or you re coming up on your very first anniversary, there s a good chance the two of you have changed since that big day. No one is sure how or why this transformation takes place once marriage occurs, but it does, and it often does so without notice.

The kids, the jobs, the bills, the rat race, the (imagined or real) loss of freedom, the never-ending stresses and demands on our time cause us to lose track of the individuals we once were. We stop learning about one another, we stop going out on dates, and we nag and complain and get angry at one another for seemingly trivial issues.

Once a year, anniversaries give us an opportunity to remember the love and attraction that once was. Of course, walking down memory lane can only happen as long as the anniversary date isn t forgotten. If it is, then that s a whole other story!

Which is another good reason why it s important to cherish our anniversaries. Any person who forgets an anniversary will end up regretting that memory lapse in more ways than he or she can imagine! And rightly so. In today s automated society, there s really no excuse for forgetting your anniversary.

Another reason why it s important to cherish our anniversaries is because there are few other times during the year when extravagance and excess can be excused. In other words, an anniversary is a great excuse for spending absurd amounts of money on dinner and jewellery and all those other gifts that would otherwise be banned from the budget.

It really is no wonder that the traditional anniversary gift list has been updated. It s kind of difficult to think of a useful gift, a gift that both parties will appreciate, that s made out of paper, or linen, or cotton. When each year s gift suggestions revolve around precious gemstones, as they do on today s modern anniversary gift lists, a quick trip to the jeweller s is all it takes to come up with something suitable for the occasion.

By: Janette Vince

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J Vince is managing director of the experience and gifts online shop www.thanksdarling.com For a range of jewellery visit www.thanksdarling.com/54-7.htm