Many people after the wedding do not celebrate the next anniversary of the marriage. And they don’t even suspect that each year of life together has its own name, as well as traditions for celebrating a significant date. Four years from the day of the wedding, let a small date, but also important, which should be treated with all attention.
What is the name of the anniversary?
In different countries, the date of the fourth anniversary of the marriage has its own name. In Holland, it is celebrated as a silk wedding, in Germany - as an amber. Even in Europe, she was given the name wax. And if you think about it, that really makes sense. Over 4 years of marriage, spouses learn to be compliant in relation to each other. As wax changes under the influence of external circumstances, so the husband and wife adjust to each other.
In Russia, this anniversary is called linen. Since the fabric from flax is practical, such that it is not easy to tear, and besides, clothes from it were always appreciated so that only wealthy people could afford it, so the meaning of this name is obvious. A married couple who has preserved love and mutual understanding over the years is able to achieve material well-being and raise the level of relationships in family life to an incredible height. Four more years of marriage are celebrated as a rope wedding. It is believed that the couple by this time are intertwined like ropes.
It’s not easy to untie the knot that held them together.
Customs and traditions
In Russia, there were traditions to mark the dates of married life. For example, four years after the wedding, it was a custom to tie a wife and husband with ropes. They were tied to chairs. If they could not get out of the put, it was considered a good sign.This means that the couple will be in a happy marriage, being bound by strong bonds. And also on the date of the fourth anniversary of life together in the morning, when the sun only rises, the wife covered her husband with a blanket from linen. The woman began to weave this blanket before she got married.
From the blanket it was possible to judge the feelings of the wife to her husband. If it was big, it spoke of the great prospects of marriage, and if short, the husband should have thought about how much love and attention he had given to his wife for the years he had lived together. Weaving blankets from linen ceased over time, but tradition has not gone anywhere. The girls began to do embroidery on a piece of fabric and, having married, continued this work. By the beauty and richness of the embroidery created over four years, one could judge the well-being in the marriage - such a simple and clear psychological test.
The embroidered fabric served to create a sheet, which was covered with a matrimonial bed on the day of the wedding anniversary, and then this item became a family property. On the fourth anniversary of the wedding, the godfather decided to give the goddaughter, who celebrated the fourth date of marriage, a chest or a spinning wheel and a spindle. The godmother presented her with linen fabric or ready-made linen items. Spouses in response should treat godfathers with wine and fresh pies. Such pastries were considered a symbol of security.
By the fourth anniversary of the marriage, the wife had to sew a linen shirt for her husband. She did it herself and without measurements. The success of the work depended on how much the spouse recognized her lover. In an embroidered shirt, donated by his life partner on the day of the fourth anniversary of marriage, the husband received guests who showered their spouses with linen seeds, sweets or coins. In this way wealth was attracted to the family. In preparation for the holiday, it was the husband's responsibility to decorate the table. He had to make for him figures of the bride and groom from the stems of flax.
The hands of two dolls were tied with linen thread - they were stored for a year until the fifth anniversary of the marriage and burned during a new holiday.
How to celebrate an anniversary?
The four-year anniversary of marriage together can only conditionally be called an anniversary. Relatives and close friends are usually invited to it. Celebrating a linen wedding on a grand scale is not accepted. As a rule, it is celebrated at home, although in our time it is hardly considered shameful to go to a cafe or restaurant for celebration. On the table, according to tradition, you need to put a tablecloth and napkins made of linen, because it is believed that this will strengthen the relationship of the spouses. And also an attribute of this holiday are wax candles, which should be lit before the arrival of guests. Decorations in the form of figures connected with linen thread will also be a symbol of the strength of the relationship and a tribute to the tradition of celebrating linen weddings.
Treats for the fourth anniversary of the marriage should not be complicated, if only they were tasty and satisfying. Although the hostess should not limit their cooking skills. She has a great opportunity to demonstrate what she learned over the years of marriage with her husband. A woman can cook a variety of dishes, ranging from salad and ending with a festive cake. It is believed that if a couple celebrating the four-year anniversary of the wedding has not yet had children, there should be a lot of sweets on the table. First of all, from the category of home baking, which will attract health and offspring to the family.
At the holiday, both homemade and purchased alcohol are quite appropriate. But we must not forget that this is not about a “wide wedding”, so do not make large stocks of such drinks. The first toast is usually given by the godparents or the parents of the spouses. Then friends and relatives can do it. Gifts are best given at the height of the holiday, when everyone has relaxed and felt at home.
It is advisable to arrange the presentation ceremony with unusual "staged moves": comic poems, memoirs and remarks on the topic.
Gifts
On the fourth wedding anniversary, it is customary for husband and wife to exchange gifts. The most suitable for the wife are the following:
- linen clothes;
- cosmetics based on beekeeping products;
- graceful candle holders;
- objects of art;
- song composed in honor of the spouse;
- linen textiles;
- Collage of joint photos;
- jewelry made of precious metals with a “rope” design;
- amber jewelry (similar to German traditions, where amber symbolizes the strength of family ties);
- Bouquet of wildflowers with sprigs of flax.
A wife can give her husband gifts such as:
- items of clothing made of silk or linen;
- forty or four year old alcohol;
- do-it-yourself embroidered towels or paintings.
It is clear that it is not necessary to be limited to the proposed list. Each couple has their own interests and preferences. Therefore, today anything can be a gift, from a joint parachute jump to a trip to rest abroad. A good book or spinning can also please a loved one. How much relatives and friends guess with gifts for a date depends on the extent to which they know the preferences of the spouses. A win-win option will be things of practical purpose - bedding, elegant bedspreads and tablecloths, original sofa pillows.
Such things are sure to come in handy in any home.
The original move will be to give the husband and wife celebrating an important date subscriptions for free trips to the theater or tickets to the popular show. Jewelry with the same design can also please the heroes of the occasion. In addition, they will subsequently remind them of the past holiday and joyful moments of life together. A symbolic gift is a set of wax candles. Although any gift wrapped in linen “packaging” or packed in a bag of this fabric will already acquire special significance. Like macrame products, symbolizing a strong “rope connection” between spouses.
Parents, on the one hand and the other, can give the couple a pair of clothes for their children. And by the way, only they alone can do this according to etiquette. Mostly close older relatives bestow spouses celebrating a linen wedding with more expensive gifts. This is not forbidden to friends, although they can present something humorous from the category of "jokes." Although, of course, the main thing is not gifts and not following traditions, but the desire to preserve the love and respect of men and women for each other, no matter how many anniversary dates a married couple celebrates.
You will learn more about what to present on your 4th anniversary of marriage from the next video.
