Anniversary

What It Means

An anniversary is the date that comes around each year marking something that happened on it, as Merriam-Webster puts it. People use it most for weddings, but it also covers the anniversary of a company's founding, a move, a sobriety date or a loss. A wedding anniversary is counted in completed years, so the first falls exactly one year after the wedding day.

How People Say It

• "It's our tenth this year, so tin, apparently."
• "Did you book somewhere for our anniversary?"
• "Happy work anniversary, five years already."

The Breakdown

Worked example. A couple married in June 2016. In June 2026 they reach their 10th anniversary, which the Emily Post Institute's classic list pairs with aluminum or tin.

Some of the classic list, from the Emily Post Institute

The Emily Post Institute's page carries the years not shown here.

What the result means. The number tells you which year you're marking and what the traditional theme is. The theme is a starting point for ideas, like a framed print on paper for a first or a wooden keepsake for a fifth.

Where It Comes From

The word comes from the Latin anniversarius, meaning "returning annually," built from annus (year) and vertere (to turn), according to Merriam-Webster. Gifts tied to particular years appear in Emily Post's 1922 book Etiquette, which named paper, wood, tin, crystal, china, silver and gold for the 1st, 5th, 10th, 15th, 20th, 25th and 50th years. In 1937 the American National Retail Jeweler Association filled out most of the remaining years, the Emily Post Institute says.

Good to Know

The gift list is tradition, not a rule, and different lists disagree on some years, so don't worry if a card shop shows something else. Emily Post's institute presents its list as classic etiquette. Buhata's suggestion: use the year's material as a prompt, and choose something the other person will actually use or keep.

Related Terms and Categories

• Milestone birthday

  A birthday treated as especially significant, such as an 18th, 21st, 30th or 40th, which some people mark with a bigger celebration.

• Gift budget

  A spending plan that sets how much you'll spend on gifts, person by person or occasion by occasion, for a season or a whole year.

• Receiving gifts

  One of Gary Chapman's five love languages: feeling loved through thoughtful gifts, where the thought and effort behind the gift matter more than its price.

• Thank-you notes

  A short handwritten or typed message thanking someone for a gift, a favor or their hospitality, ideally sent within a few days.

Holidays and celebrations