Anniversary Celebrations

An anniversary is commonly associated with weddings. Married persons who regard the date of their marriage as important may mark the yearly date of their wedding in some special way.

Broader groups in society, especially the families, and even more especially the children of such a couple, may help to celebrate such occasions; this is particularly common on the 40th, 50th, and 60th annivs.

Retailers (especially jewellers), sensing a profit opportunity, have encouraged gift-giving on such special days, and may often suggest a hierarchy of types of gifts to reflect the importance of longer years of marriage (and perhaps of greater ability to purchase more expensive gifts).

Suggested Wedding Anniversary Present Ideas for Young Couples

from Send Anniversary Gifts

Select a wedding anniversary present that exudes an unmatched joy to the receive and impart experiences that make a unique and unusual anniversary gift idea. A lovely wedding anniversary present gives a feeling of "That's just what I wanted". Here are few wedding anniversary present ideas that can make a perfect gift for you and your spouse.

Paper: Magazine subscription, book, cookbook, stationery, photograph album, grocery bag of paper products (made from recycled paper perhaps), playing cards, tickets to special event, gift certificate, coupon for yard or housework, bridge tallies, matching party napkins and paper plates, sheet music "green paper" (currency).

Furniture: Occasional table or chair, desk, bookshelves, folding table and chairs, TV trays, mattresses, gift certificate to furniture store.

Cotton : Matching T-shirts, shirts, or nightshirts; sheets or pillowcases, place mats and napkins; cotton hammock; a crocheted ornament or item; tote bag; handmade Christmas tree skirt or stocking; throw pillow; quilt or afghan; bath set; apron; beach towel; handkerchiefs (monogrammed); how about cotton candy?

China: Bud vase, candy dish; serving dish, cup and saucer, or any piece in their pattern; china flowers; china painting on a trivet or plate; gift certificate to Chinese restaurant.

Crystal, glass: Set of glasses (see Anniversary Gift Ideas for all kinds), pitcher, hand or wall mirror, bud vase, glass Christmas tree ornament, bottle of wine, candy dish, salt and pepper shakers, coasters, glass baking dishes, stained glass window ornament or lamp, candle holders, parfait or sherbet glasses, dressing table set, kaleidoscope, crystal collectible figurine, picture frame; how about a liquid crystal display (LCD) watch or calculator?

Flowers: Dried, silk, or cloth flowers; bouquet of real or chocolate flowers; rose bush or other flowering plant or bulb for the garden; hanging basket or potted plant; art print or notecards with flowers or fruit on them

Silk: Silk pillowcases, sheets, pajamas, gloves, underwear, shirt or blouse.

Silverware: Silver or silverplate flatware (serving piece or odd piece like iced tea spoon or grapefruit spoon in their flatware pattern), tray or trivet, pendant, napkin rings, candle holder, thimble. See Silver Gift Ideas for more suggestions.

Desk sets: Pencil holder, electric pencil sharpener, paperweight, desk picture frame or picture of couple or family for desk, calendar, desk organizer, bookends for desk, pen and pencil set, computer accessories.

Pottery: Pottery or ceramic dishware (in their pattern), pitcher, bowl, wind chimes, flower pot, cookie jar or jam jar, figurine.

Lace: Lacy lingerie, blouse, handkerchief, sachet, dresser scarf; lace-trimmed pillow or dresser scarf; lace collar.

Diamond jewelry: Pin, watch, brooch, pendant, ring, earrings, necklace.

Fashion jewelry: Pendant with initial, special religious or hobby symbol; neck chains, earrings.

Pearls: Pearl earrings, choker, pendant; mother-of-pearl inlaid box or jewelry.

Platinum: Jewelry, watch

Indiana, meaning the "Land of the Indians," is a Midwestern state of the United States.

Economy
The total gross state product in 2003 was US$214 billion. Indiana's per capita income, as of 2003, was US$28,783.

Indiana is located within the Corn Belt, and the state's agricultural methods and principal farm outputs reflect this: a feedlot-style system raising corn to fatten hogs and cattle. Soybeans are also a major cash crop. The state's nearness to large urban centers, such as Chicago, Illinois, also assures that much dairying, egg production, and specialty horticulture occur. Specialty crops include melons (southern Wabash Valley), tomatoes (concentrated in central Indiana), grapes, and mint (Source: USDA crop profiles). In addition, Indiana is a significant producer of tobacco. Most of the original land was not prairie and had to be cleared of deciduous trees. Many isolated parcels of woodland remain, and much of the southern, hilly portion is heavily forested (a condition which supports a local furniture-making sector in that part of the state).

A high percentage of Indiana's income is from manufacturing. The Calumet region of northwest Indiana is the largest steel producing area in the U.S., and this activity also requires that very large amounts of electric power be generated. Indiana's other manufactures include automobiles, electrical equipment, transportation equipment, chemical products, rubber, petroleum and coal products, and factory machinery. In addition, Indiana has the international headquarters of pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly as well as the headquarters of Mead Johnson Nutritionals, a division of Bristol-Myers Squibb. Elkhart, in the north, has also had a strong economic base of pharmaceuticals, though this has changed over the past decade with the closure of Whitehall Laboratories in the 1990s and the planned drawdown of the large Bayer complex, announced in late 2005.

Despite its reliance on manufacturing, Indiana has been much less affected by declines in traditional Rust Belt manufactures than many of its neighbors. The explanation appears to be certain factors in the labor market. First, much of the heavy manufacturing, such as industrial machinery and steel, requires highly skilled labor, and firms are often willing to locate where hard-to-train skills already exist. Second, Indiana's labor force is located primarily in medium-sized and smaller cities rather than in very large and expensive metropolises. This makes it possible for firms to offer, and labor accept, somewhat lower wages for these skills than would normally be paid. In other words, firms often see in Indiana a chance to obtain higher than average skills at lower than average wages for those skills, which often makes location in the state desirable. (Source for basic manufacturing facts in the above two paragraphs is generally McCoy and McNamara, "Manufacturers in Indiana," Purdue University Center for Rural Development, Research Paper 19, July 1998.)

In mining, Indiana is probably best known for its decorative limestone from the southern, hilly portion of the state, especially from around Bedford (the home area of Apollo I astronaut Gus Grissom). One of the many public buildings faced with this stone is The Pentagon, and after the attack of September 11, 2001, a special effort was made by the mining industry of Indiana to replace those damaged walls with as nearly identical type and cut of material as the original facing. There are also large coal mines in the southern portion of the state. Like most Great Lakes states, Indiana has small to medium operating petroleum fields; the principal location of these today is in the extreme southwest, though operational oil derricks can be seen on the outskirts of Terre Haute.

Indiana's economy is considered to be one of the most business-friendly in the U.S. This is due in part to its conservative business climate, low business taxes, and many labor laws that have remained unchanged since the 1800s, emphasizing the supremacy of employer/management. The doctrine of at-will employment, whereby an employer can terminate an employee for any or no reason, is firmly ensconced in Indiana. Unions in Indiana are among the weakest in the U.S. and it is difficult for unions to organize. Workers' Compensation payouts are the lowest in the United States.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/