By allowing ads to appear on this site, you support the local businesses who, in turn, support great journalism.
An English Rose in Georgia: A silver wedding anniversary
Lesley Francis new 2022.jpg

My husband and I will soon be celebrating our silver wedding anniversary. Our 25 years of marriage seems to have gone by in a flash, and even though the year 2000 doesn’t seem that far behind us, we look impossibly young in those wedding photos.

Obviously, a quarter of a century of marriage is a significant milestone in a couple’s relationship and demonstrates enduring love and commitment.

But why is the 25th anniversary called ‘silver’?

This tradition of associating silver to a quarter century of marriage is believed to date back to medieval Germany, where wives were presented with a silver wreath for 25 years of marriage and husbands might receive a silver buckle. There would also be a big celebration for family and friends to mark this momentous occasion – remember life expectancy was around half of what we enjoy today and many women died in childbirth, so hitting the 25-year of marriage mark was pretty significant for a couple.

The tradition of celebrating wedding anniversaries in English- speaking countries only really began in the 1800s – the Victorian era. Then romantic ideals met capitalism, which raised the profile of and expectations for anniversaries.

In the 1920s, The Hallmark Card Company in the USA began to really promote the idea of celebrating wedding anniversaries with parties, gifts and of course sending congratulatory cards to the lucky couple. Around this time The Retail Jewelers Association, a US trade body, decided to standardize anniversary lists and emphasize gifts of precious metals and stones with aggressive marketing which continues to this day. I support the tradition of giving and receiving jewelry as an anniversary gift but other popular 25th anniversary gifts include a silver horseshoe, engraved silver keepsakes, silver home decor, a silver vase or a silver framed picture of the couple or family.

Moving on to the metal itself, the history of the discovery and use of silver is fascinating. It was first mined around 5,000 years ago in what is now Turkey and helped early civilizations in the near East, Ancient Greece and Chinese empires to prosper. Silver became a cornerstone of trade and wealth as its durability, divisibility, intrinsic value and the fact that it was portable, made it an ideal medium of exchange.

The Roman Empire relied on silver as an essential trading component along the Asian spice routes and there was a lot of silver mining in Spain around this time. The discovery of silver by European conquerors in the Americas dramatically increased its importance in the world.

Between 1500 and 1800 South America accounted for the majority of world silver production and it supported the dominance of Spain’s influence in this region. Later mining spread to other regions especially the USA, with the discovery of silver mines in Nevada, Alaska and Idaho. The late 19th century and early 20th century saw expansion in silver production with technological innovations in mining and new silver discoveries in the USA, Australia, Canada, Africa, Central America, Europe and Japan. However, around this time a shift away from silver-based currency systems began and moved towards the more stable gold standard. As jewellery, silver has been used for thousands of years. It has a beautiful luster, has generally been more affordable than gold, and it has inherent strength but yet has a malleability which makes it easy to work with. It also offers durability, especially when alloyed with other metals such as copper to create sterling silver.

There is a lot more information at www.history.com and www.Britannica. com.

I will leave you with an amusing quote this week by the American comedian and author of the book I Still Have It; I Just Can’t Remember Where I Put It, Rita Rudner: “It’s so great to find that one special person you want to annoy for the rest of your life”.

God Bless America! Lesley grew up in London, England and made Georgia her home in 2009. She can be contacted at lesley@francis.com or via her full-service marketing agency at www. lesleyfrancispr.com.

Sign up for our E-Newsletters