There is nothing more precious than the birth of an infant, and as that special day approaches, it's become a custom to hold a baby shower where friends and family members celebrate with the mom to be and present her with gifts for the new baby. It's a custom that is now taken lightly, but the history of how it all started is rather obscure. It's widely known that many early cultures such as the Egyptians and Romans gave modest gifts to the infant, although not until after it was born.
The baby shower, that we know today, became normal practice after World War II when there happened to be a major baby boom. While it's still unclear why it started, the view is that ready money was extremely tight and with a new infant being a somewhat heavy financial burden, communities elected to help others with the outlay. It might also simply be that with so many lives lost in the course of the war, the life of a new infant was something that should be celebrated.
The gifts presented at a shower are generally necessities such as diapers, bottles and blankets, but it is it's also not that uncommon for family members to provide bigger gifts such as cribs and changing tables. That wasn'twasn't always so though, and the gifts were generally always little tokens, a custom that dates back to those early cultures.
The modern baby shower is usually held at the home of a friend of the new mom, with the justification being that many cultures find it unseemly that a member of the family should host as it seems like the family is begging for gifts on behalf of the expectant mother. The one exception is when the get together is hosted at the home of the grandmother, a member of the family who happens to have a special place in most world cultures. The grandmother custom is one that has lasted over the years and across different lands, and mostly she is going to be expected to make a blanket and give a silver token, typically a spoon, to the baby. It is believed that this silver was supposed to represent a birthright for the baby, and as such was held by the parents up until the infant reached adult age.
The baby shower has changed considerably over the years, and while the basic idea is the same, the entire process has become much more excessive with themed showers, baby shower party favors, and full meals now being an element of the deal. It is also not entirely unusual for an expectant mom to receive more than one shower, with a new one sometimes being held at her place of work. Whatever the reality, baby showers are here to stay, and there truly is no better way to commemorate the impending arrival of a newborn.
The baby shower, that we know today, became normal practice after World War II when there happened to be a major baby boom. While it's still unclear why it started, the view is that ready money was extremely tight and with a new infant being a somewhat heavy financial burden, communities elected to help others with the outlay. It might also simply be that with so many lives lost in the course of the war, the life of a new infant was something that should be celebrated.
The gifts presented at a shower are generally necessities such as diapers, bottles and blankets, but it is it's also not that uncommon for family members to provide bigger gifts such as cribs and changing tables. That wasn'twasn't always so though, and the gifts were generally always little tokens, a custom that dates back to those early cultures.
The modern baby shower is usually held at the home of a friend of the new mom, with the justification being that many cultures find it unseemly that a member of the family should host as it seems like the family is begging for gifts on behalf of the expectant mother. The one exception is when the get together is hosted at the home of the grandmother, a member of the family who happens to have a special place in most world cultures. The grandmother custom is one that has lasted over the years and across different lands, and mostly she is going to be expected to make a blanket and give a silver token, typically a spoon, to the baby. It is believed that this silver was supposed to represent a birthright for the baby, and as such was held by the parents up until the infant reached adult age.
The baby shower has changed considerably over the years, and while the basic idea is the same, the entire process has become much more excessive with themed showers, baby shower party favors, and full meals now being an element of the deal. It is also not entirely unusual for an expectant mom to receive more than one shower, with a new one sometimes being held at her place of work. Whatever the reality, baby showers are here to stay, and there truly is no better way to commemorate the impending arrival of a newborn.
About the Author:
The writer is the owner of a New York gift store full of baby shower favor ideas and and baby shower gift ideas.