Wedding Anniversary

A wedding anniversary is the anniversary of the date a marriage took place.

Traditional names exist for all of them: for instance, 50 years of marriage is called a "golden wedding anniversary" or simply a "golden anniversary"; 25 is called a "silver wedding anniversary" or "silver anniversary". Sixty years is a "diamond wedding anniversary" or "diamond anniversary". First year anniversary is called a "Paper Anniversary".

The historic origins of wedding anniversaries date back to the Holy Roman Empire, when husbands crowned their wives with a silver wreath on their twenty-fifth anniversary, and a gold wreath on the fiftieth. Later, principally in the twentieth century, commercialism led to the addition of more anniversaries being represented by a named gift.

In the Commonwealth realms, one can receive a message from the monarch for 60th, 65th, and 70th wedding anniversaries, and any wedding anniversary after that, currently sent as a greeting card. This is done by applying to Buckingham Palace in the United Kingdom, or to the Governor-General's office in the other Commonwealth realms.

In Australia, where one can receive a letter of congratulations from the Governor-General on the 50th and all subsequent wedding anniversaries; the Prime Minister, the federal Opposition leader, local members of both state and federal parliaments, and state Governors may also send salutations for the same anniversaries.

In Canada, one can also receive a message from the Governor-General for the 50th anniversary, and every fifth anniversary after that.

In the United States, a couple can receive a greeting from the President for any wedding anniversary on or after the 50th.

Roman Catholics may apply to the Office of Papal Charities for a papal blessing for wedding anniversaries of a special nature (25th, 50th, 60th, etc.); however, Archbishop Konrad Krajewski stated that after 1 January 2015 blessings will not be available to stores or businesses outside the Vatican, but by applying, scrolls can be shipped anywhere.

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Wikipedia