The traditional and modern gifts for wedding anniversaries have both good and bad aspects. The good part about it is that it focuses the mind in terms of what to get, demonstrates you have thought about it and has sentimental value. The bad is that is restricts the things you can get and in some cases makes it very difficult. I have to admit that finding a bronze gift nowadays is no mean feat! The history begins in the early days of Christianity where they took every opportunity to celebrate something. A wedding anniversary was an obvious occasion and fitted well into their belief system, making it a cause of celebration for the whole group, village etc.
Until a couple of centuries ago only eight anniversaries had gifts designated to them: first (paper), fifth (wood), tenth (tin), fifteenth (crystal), twentieth (china), twenty-fifth (silver), fiftieth (gold) and sixtieth (diamond).
By the mid 1800s this had expanded to the first fifteen anniversaries and every five years after that up to the sixtieth. The items were (roughly) based on the value of the goods, assigning more value the longer the union.
In more recent time modern gifts have been allocated to make it easier for people to actually get gifts and fitting in more with current habits and tastes.
People, in general, tend to stick to the major milestones in trying to match the appropriate gift, and simply get something meaningful for the anniversaries in between.
The list below should only be one factor when getting an anniversary gift. Knowledge of the person, your shared interests and what they would actually like should also be factored in.
ANNIVERSARY - TRADITIONAL, MODERN
First - paper, clocks
Second - cotton, china
Third - leather, crystal/glass
Fourth - fruit/flowers, appliances
Fifth - wood, silverware
Sixth - candy/iron, wood
Seventh - wool/copper, desk sets
Eighth - bronze/pottery, linens, lace
Ninth - pottery/willow, leather
Tenth - tin/aluminum, diamond jewelry
Eleventh - steel, fashion jewelry
Twelfth - silk/linen, pearls
Thirteenth - lace, textiles/furs
Fourteenth - ivory, gold jewelry
Fifteenth - crystal, watches
Twentieth - china, platinum
Twenty-Fifth - silver, silver
Thirtieth - pearl, diamond
Thirty-Fifth - coral, jade
Fortieth - ruby, ruby
Forty-Fifth - sapphire, sapphire
Fiftieth - gold, gold
Fifty-Fifth - emerald, emerald
Sixtieth - diamond, diamond
Seventy-fifth - diamond, diamond
