The very first anniversary of the marriage of the spouses is a calico (flour, cotton or gauze) wedding.
This event received this name due to the fact that it was traditional to give chintz materials for diapers on this occasion, since in ancient times the family was already expecting their first child on this day. Now this tradition is also relevant, because a large number of couples go to the registry office with the birth of a baby.
Symbolic rituals.
Unlike other celebrations, the table needs to be covered only with a chintz tablecloth. In the old days, the bride herself embroidered the tablecloth for her anniversary. Now she can decorate the tablecloth with multi-colored buttons and place flowers on the table.
A cotton napkin is prepared for each guest. Later you can also install paper ones.
The feast is not made magnificent; more time is spent on presenting gifts, wishes and competitions.
From the wedding, the newlyweds keep 2 bottles of donated champagne. The young ones are now uncorking one and treating all the guests. According to another version of the holiday, the spouses drink this champagne themselves.
The second bottle will wait for the firstborn.
Gifts for husband, wife.
Let the guests taste the champagne, eat some appetizers and continue the evening presenting gifts to each other. It's part of the ritual and will set the overall mood for the party.
Previously, for the first year of the wedding, spouses gave calico handkerchiefs. Then, right at the celebration, little knots were tied on them, which meant a declaration of love and fidelity. The husband and wife took an oath, and hid the handkerchiefs in a secret place and kept them all their lives.
Do not discard this symbolic ritual, do everything as written above, say words of love and fidelity and let the handkerchiefs be kept until the golden wedding.
A wife can give her husband a shirt, and a husband can give his wife a sundress or a chintz tunic. You can leave and change into donated clothes, then begin accepting gifts from those invited.
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Calico wedding: traditions, rituals
Most of the first wedding anniversary traditions are no longer used or forgotten, but some of them still exist.
It is customary to invite guests to a chintz wedding. Due to the fact that it was impossible to buy clothes in Rus', they made them with their own hands, so on the eve of the anniversary, the housewife independently made outfits for herself and her husband. Also, the bride had to wear a chintz dress all day.
Parents give.
Parents have a special mission; with their gift they must hint to their children that it is time to increase the family and give them grandchildren. Traditionally it is believed that they should give something made of fabric for the unborn child, as our great-grandmothers did.
In ancient times, clothes for children were prepared in advance. Because it was necessary to make fabric, process it, sew clothes by hand, and such a gift was very much appreciated. The family was created for procreation; there were “as many children as God pleases” in the family.
Now times have changed, young people sometimes have different priorities. Many people consider buying children's things in advance a bad omen.
Therefore, parents can give a piece of diapers or a set of bed linen and at the same time hint that they are expecting a new addition to the family and are ready to help with the baby. This is a symbolic part, the second part most likely has already been given as a gift during the year, or you can time a major purchase to coincide with your wedding anniversary.
The mother-in-law gives her daughter-in-law a beautiful chintz dress, which means her blessing for the future happy life of her son’s family. An original present for the mother-in-law is a painting embroidered on fabric.
Often parents give a symbolic horseshoe made of any material to attract prosperity to the home.
The mother-in-law can knit a sweater for her son-in-law, and a scarf from the same material for her daughter, thereby emphasizing the unity of the spouses.
Any jewelry for the newlyweds - paired pendants with their names, pendants with the number one.
Parents do their best to support the new family financially and any valuable gift will be a good support for them.
The presentation of gifts occurs with numerous wishes from parents.
An important milestone in a person's life
Why is a wedding event almost the most important milestone in a person’s life?
Because from this moment, as stated in Scripture, “And a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” Because a new family is being created, a new “unit of society”, which will build its own temple of love with its own laws and orders and its own charter. And in many ways, what kind of temple it will be depends on the two building it: whether they will respect each other and build their relationship on love and respect, or whether they will find out who is boss in the house. As the proverb says: “Getting married means no misfortune, no matter how much the married man perishes.” You can turn family life into heaven on Earth, or you can turn it into hell. Although everything depends on the will of God, newlyweds also need to work, and this work does not end in the first year after the wedding, but sometimes continues throughout their lives. But no one will argue with the fact that the first anniversary is the most difficult. And only God knows how many years family life will last. Everything depends on the foundation laid in the first years of joint construction.
Gifts from guests.
The name chintz wedding speaks for itself and the priority when donating is items made from any fabric, currently not necessarily chintz.
During the year of living together, the family did not have time to settle down completely and curtains, towels, bedspreads, kitchen aprons, oven mitts, bed linen, T-shirts, home clothes will come in handy - all this will be useful in the household.
Fabric items can be hand-embroidered, which is highly valued as an exclusive item. The newlyweds will love this gift.
In fact, do not buy a set of beautiful bed linen made from chintz, since it fades quickly, preferably silk, calico, satin, or the now fashionable linen with plant fibers made from bamboo.
Paired T -shirts with drawings or inscriptions for young spouses. They will be happy to wear them at every opportunity.
For this first anniversary, a gift to a young couple must contain one of the above, as a symbol of the holiday, reminding the young that the most difficult year is behind them.
If the symbolic gift turned out to be inexpensive, add some more valuable things for the new family. This could be any household appliances, furniture, tableware, certificates, vacation vouchers...
Don’t forget to prepare a congratulatory speech, maybe in poetic form and set it to music. Video greetings, albums, posters, collages, photographs in an original frame are suitable. Make the moment of congratulations a small performance!
How to celebrate your first anniversary
An important family holiday is approaching, but you don’t know how to celebrate your first wedding anniversary? We offer you several options.
- Repeat the wedding day. Yes Yes. To celebrate the first year of the family, you can again put on a wedding dress and conduct a stylized photo shoot. Moreover, the further buffet is at your discretion.
- Romantic dinner alone. You can celebrate your first important family date in a restaurant or have a romantic dinner on the roof of your house, inviting a violinist and a waiter. Or you can even go on a short trip in a hot air balloon!
- A cafe or restaurant where all your friends and relatives with whom you want to share your joy will gather. The most standard option, but with an original approach to the design of the hall and an interesting entertainment program, the holiday risks being remembered for a long time.
- Picnic in nature. While guests are thinking about what to give for their wedding year, we advise you to think about a holiday in nature. Especially if the anniversary falls during the warm season. What kind of “wedding” would there be without interesting games, jokes and delicious snacks? For outdoor entertainment, active games will come in handy: badminton, huge chess or tic-tac-toe, sack jumping, tug of war. Girls will certainly appreciate the “rubber bands” from childhood. The main thing is to warn guests about the appropriate appearance. The place of celebration can be a dacha, a river/lake bank, a park, a rented cottage or an estate.
Decorations for a chintz wedding
Any holiday requires decorations and accessories. A chintz wedding, like a paper wedding, is still “young”, which means avoid being too pretentious. It is better to decorate the year of marriage in a light, playful style, which will only emphasize the young age of the family. For decoration you will need: textiles (chintz, silk, chiffon), lace, fabric souvenirs, colorful scarves, bows of different sizes, flags, toys and souvenirs made with your own hands (at the end of the evening they can be presented to guests), figurines of doves, balloons, candles, flowers.
We suggest paying special attention to the tablecloth. Take a simple tablecloth or a piece of calico/chintz and decorate it with lace, buttons, and beads. Turn on your imagination! The main thing is that the result will be truly original and unique! And an embroidered tablecloth will become a pleasant memory of the family’s first birthday.
What should you treat your guests to?
As a rule, complex and sophisticated dishes are not prepared for a chintz wedding. This fate befalls those who celebrate many years of marriage. But how many treats to prepare depends solely on the number of guests and their appetite. So, what should you treat your family with: fruits, vegetable salads, sandwiches and canapés, light snacks, stuffed pies. If desired, you can cook shish kebab and grilled sausages.
Decide on alcohol in advance. On this day, it is better to keep alcohol to a minimum. Active games and interesting competitions will help in this matter.
And, of course, a wedding anniversary requires a matching cake! It could be simply the number 1, symbolizing the year of marriage, or a dessert with figures of lovers. You should also choose a light filling, such as yogurt.
Entertainment at the party.
You can set up a chintz art workshop. You need to buy better T-shirts for everyone, fabric paints and stencils for applying drawings and inscriptions. This activity will delight the guests, and the couple will get “masterpieces” as a keepsake.
A photo session for guests will remind everyone of this event for a long time. Let the guests not just take pictures, but come up with interesting compositions for photos.
Those invited are invited to tell interesting episodes from the wedding; memories will come flooding back to everyone.
Competition among guests for the correct answers to questions concerning young people. Since the guests are the closest, there will be no difficulties for them with answers.
A short review film from the wedding is prepared by the newlyweds and shown to the guests at the end of the party. They thank the guests for their attention to the young family and promise to strengthen their union even more over the next year.
How did you celebrate your first family anniversary? Don't be greedy - share below.
