Last June 21 I went to my first baby shower, it was the arrival of my goddaughter Maria Veronica who is about to be born ... During the celebration we got the question of why are babys showers celebrated? Where did the idea come from? Is it a tradition? A custom? A culture? Or maybe just a party? ... I did a half field research for it, and here I want to share it, so I can tell you about the Baby Shower I attended
Baby showers are parties or meetings that take place during pregnancy (preferably in the last trimester of pregnancy) or after the baby is born.
What is the origin of this party? ¸ There is evidence that cultures such as the Egyptian and Roman celebrated the welcome of the baby making an offering to the mother.
In the middle of the Victorian era (19th century) it was frowned upon to show pregnancy, so this meeting was not organized until the baby was born. With the baby already in her arms, the mother gathered her friends around a tea table. During this meeting, gifts were offered to the mother, which could be made by the guests or be objects of silver. Some religious also attribute the origin of the baby shower to the very birth of Jesus and the arrival of the wise men with gifts
• What characteristics do you have in other countries?
In countries like China the Baby Shower is celebrated after the birth of the baby, at 4 weeks of the newborn baby. It is a way to celebrate the success of pregnancy and to welcome the baby. It is not the same with the followers of the Hindu religion, who organize it during pregnancy, and not afterwards.
In Brazil, it's called Cha de Bebe, it's only made between women and they usually give themselves diapers
• How is it organized today?
At present, this party can begin to be planned since the pregnancy is confirmed, but it can be done at any time.
A person close to the future parents, is responsible for organizing the party, inviting friends, family or colleagues.
Most baby showers include invitations, music, food and personalized games.
Traditionally, baby showers were only held for the family, only women were invited. The original purpose was for women to share the wisdom and lessons about the occupation of becoming a mother. Over time, it has become common to celebrate it for the following children or adopted. It is not uncommon to have more than one baby shower per child: one with friends, another with co-workers.
Most hostesses invite only women to baby showers, although there is no fixed rule that requires it. If the party takes place after the birth of the baby, the baby usually also attends the party. Baby showers include food (caterin), but not a full meal. Some hosts organize activities, such as games to taste baby food or guess the date of birth or sex of the baby.
And then, according to my brief investigation, it now leads me to say my experience, and that is that by correcting what has been investigated, the baby shower has food (pasapalos).
There were recreational activities (games), from guessing the width of the belly of the breast, like games in which if you said mama - papa - baby - the name of the baby - or the name of the popes were totally disqualified from the rest of the games
The celebration had a gift table, where the guests brought the gift or present to the baby it is waiting for, gifts that at the end of the celebration were opened by the parents, trying to guess what it was before opening the envelope.
During my stay in the celebration you can observe, the great decoration that there was, that although it could be said that it was simple, for being only to have three table (the table of the sandwiches, the table of the gifts, and a small table in the which were the presents that were given to the guests in gratitude for having attended) despite this, was very elegant, had the essential, and a good combination. But I can not leave out, how much was a good decoration, there was good service, the hostesses, who were the mother (the one who is pregnant) and the grandmother, were very efficient, because just as they enjoyed their party they were efficient for the distribution of food and drinks, since they did not have the help of waiters
During the celebration they could not miss the photos with the guests, and it was that, the guest who was coming would deliver the gift for the next photo with the pregnant mom
