There are certain traditions and names for each year of marriage, and 12 years of wedding are no exception. What kind of wedding this year, what needs to be given and how to celebrate - issues that are primarily of interest to women. After all, it is they who organize home holidays and start family traditions, and husbands only support these initiatives.
What kind of wedding is this?
12 years of wedding - a date that has different traditions and names. In Northern Europe, in Germany, among the Slavic peoples it is customary to celebrate nickel. But in Italy, France, Spain and Portugal they celebrate a silk wedding. In Asia, India, England, the Middle East and the United States, this day is called a pearl wedding.
Where did the name come from?
In Russia, the tradition of calling 12 years of a nickel wedding came from German lands. When this happened, it is not known exactly, but during the reign of Ivan the Third, the grandfather of Ivan the Terrible, this anniversary was already called nickel.
In Northern Germany there is a legend, more reminiscent of a parable, telling why this anniversary is nickel. The legend is very long and beautiful, and the story in it is about a dwarf, whose name was Nickel. This gnome was a great prankster and was distinguished by curiosity. When people mastered mining and their mines crashed into the depths of ancient caves, all the gnomes left the acquired places farther north, but Nickel remained. Exactly 12 years he was engaged in the fact that he exchanged valuable breed mined by people for a dummy, and then disappeared.
But exactly five months later, Nickel returned and presented people with a new metal for them, which shone like silver, but was as strong as steel. People were delighted with the gift and did not ask the gnome about what the catch was. And the catch was that the metal shone only with constant care of it. If at least one day was missed, the metal faded and blackened, and with a long careless attitude lost its strength. This metal was called nickel.
After the story about the gnome, there follows a part devoted to the history of the miner, to whom Nickel gave the metal, and his wife.
The legend concludes with the fact that the wedding anniversary - 12 years lived together - does not mean the inviolability of the family. Matrimony in this period of time is similar to nickel - it is strong as steel, and shines like a noble metal, but only with proper care. If the husband and wife do not care about each other, do not bother about their home, then their marriage grows dull, blackens and loses strength.
Fairly true allegory. In principle, there are similar stories about pearls, but such tales have not reached our days about silk.
What is customary to give to spouses?
The traditions of each anniversary include a certain type of gifts, no exception and 12 years of wedding. What to give spouses on this day is a matter that does not require reflection. Of course, you need to give nickel.
In ancient times, when the main thing in the gift was its relevance and practical value, on this day the couple was presented with dishes, kitchen utensils, even buckles for shoes. In Russia, it was decided to give a large nickel-plated samovar.
Today, the practicality of the gift does not really matter. But this does not mean that you can present everything in a row.
A matrimonial gift for any anniversary, including 12 years of wedding, must meet two conditions:
- to be intended for both spouses, and not for one, that is, it is impossible to present a nickel-plated flask with an engraving or something like that; such presents the husband and wife make each other themselves;
- correspond to the theme of the holiday date, in this case - to be nickel-plated.
When thinking about a present, people often want to be original. In the case of the celebration of 12 years of a joint “wedding-life” of one of friends or acquaintances, the most traditional gift will be the most traditional, paradoxically as it may seem. It's about a samovar. The samovar was once the most typical present, but nowadays almost no one remembers it as a possible gift. And what kind of samovar it will be - a real, electric or even a decorative lampshade for a lamp, this is not so important.
How to mark?
This date is considered "half silver." There is even an interesting tradition associated with this - the couple break the silver coin in half. One part is kept by the husband, and the other by the wife. On the silver anniversary, they take out their halves and go to the blacksmith, who again makes the coin whole.
It is necessary to celebrate the “half” of the anniversary just like a silver wedding, but half the strength. That is, you should invite only close friends, people you want to see, and not “the whole city”. The table should also be much more modest than on the silver anniversary. In fact, a nickel celebration is a rehearsal of a silver wedding in relation to a banquet, presents, program and number of guests. In terms of feelings, everything should be to the fullest.
How to congratulate my husband?
Unlike the presentations given to their spouses by their guests, congratulations to the husband's wife and vice versa involve gifts of personal purpose. That is, giving your spouse a coffee pot, if in the family someone else is drinking coffee, is not necessary. This gift can be made on another day.
Good gifts will be items that a person will use daily. After all, any nickel-plated present needs daily care, and a man is unlikely to get cufflinks or something else every evening and polish to a shine. You can give a gas lighter, an expensive pen, a watch and other similar things.
How to congratulate my wife?
On the day of 12 years of wedding, congratulations for the wife are no different from the choice of presents for the husband. The gift should be personal and easy to care for.
That is, it is not necessary to present the iron. It is worth giving a watch, a bracelet, a reticule with nickel-plated clasps. If the spouse has a hobby, for example, she knits or draws, then you can safely present knitting needles or a set of colors in a nickel-plated design.
What to give flowers?
Very often in flower shops, or rather, in small shops selling around the clock, such situations arise - a man flies in with a panic in his eyes and in one breath gives out the phrase: “12 years of wedding. What wedding? What is being given? ”, After which it falls silent and looks at the seller.
It is worthy of a comedy film, but it happens in life is not so rare. Whether this is due to the fact that flower shops sell toys, cards, all kinds of trinkets and trifles, or not, is not known.
This should not be done. Firstly, this is disrespect for the person who gave the marriage 12 years of his life, and secondly, nickel presents can not be found in flower shops, however, as well as flowers suitable for this day.
Flowers of a nickel-plated wedding are peonies of all shades and varieties. Of course, if the anniversary date falls on the winter or autumn months, then finding peonies is very difficult. They can be replaced with roses, but in no case can you buy lilies or chrysanthemums on this day.
As for the shade of flowers, on this day it is customary to give colorful bouquets. Each color in such a bouquet has its own meaning:
- light pinks symbolize respect for each other;
- dark pinks speak of financial affluence;
- scarlet, bright red remind of love and passionate ardor;
- burgundy, dark reds report fidelity in feelings;
- violet or lilac declare their readiness to protect and equip the house;
- White promises stability;
- blue sing about tenderness and mutual sincerity;
- yellow indicate the presence of harmony and stability in life.
A good florist is sure to tell about this and many other "floral" details, helping in choosing a festive bouquet.
How to spend this day?
12 years of wedding - a date that does not have clear prescriptions. The only condition for spending time on this day is mutual joy. That is, you should do something together, for example, take a short trip to another area of the city. You can just walk, go to the cinema or to the theater. Some couples do not get out of bed that day at all, and not because of the presence of violent passion, but because they had previously stocked up gifts and congratulations, prepared food and put champagne in the refrigerator, deciding to do nothing all day, but only indulge in gluttony and watch old movies. This version of the holiday is also quite acceptable.
Whatever your preferences in holding the anniversary day, you must remember to take a weekend at work and do all the household chores in advance.