Anniversary dreams occur around the date or time of a significant event; e.g. birthday, death, divorce. The event may have occurred in the recent or distant past. Holidays such as Christmas or Thanksgiving can evoke a dream that involves family members or friends that are connected to a particular holiday.

Anniversary dreams may also be connected to other meaningful events, including graduations, marriage, new job, loss of job, illness, relationships etc. The central significance of the dream imagery is the meaning of the event to the dreamer. The dream may not only take place around the date of the event, but also in the context of an experience that reminds the dreamer of the event; e.g. attending a wedding or graduation.

For example, a married woman dreamt that her husband announced he was going to go on a trip while they were in church on Easter Sunday. She had the dream following an argument with him during which he walked out of the room. This reminded her of the previous Easter when he threatened to leave her during an argument.  Anniversary dreams are important because they may provide the dreamer with a new or different perpective on the event in question.