Baby Shower | LUNA LOVE OF LIFE GIFTS

Have you ever been invited to a baby shower? Most baby showers are geared to a mom’s first baby. The term shower is often assumed to mean that the expectant mother is “showered” with gifts. The proud parents do not have any items related to a baby. So this can be very expensive if they had to get everything themselves. A baby shower is where a close friend or family member hosts a party where they invite many friends and family with the purpose of congratulating the new mom-to-be and to bring a gift that will help the first-time mom to get ready for the baby.

The term “baby shower” is relatively new, but the celebrations and rituals associated with pregnancy and childbirth are both ancient and enduring.
Ancient India
In India, a pregnancy ritual has been followed since the vedic ages: an event called seemantha, held in the 6th or 8th month. The mother-to-be is showered with dry fruits, sweets and other gifts that help the baby’s growth. A musical event to please the baby’s ears is the highlight of the ritual, as it was common knowledge that the baby’s ears would start functioning within the womb. The ritual prays for a healthy baby and mother, as well as a happy delivery and motherhood.
Ancient Egypt
In ancient Egypt, rituals relating to the birth of a child took place after the event itself. Quite unlike modern baby showers, this involved the mother and the child being separated to “contain and eliminate the pollution of birth” – this may have included visiting local temples or shrines. After this, there may also have been household rituals that took place, but the specifics have been found hard to study as these are such female-centered events.
Ancient Greece
The ancient Greeks also celebrated pregnancy after the birth, with a shout (oloyge) after the labor has ended, to indicate that “peace had arrived”. Five to seven days later, there is a ceremony called Amphidromia, to indicate that the baby had integrated into the household. In wealthy families, the public dekate ceremony, after ten days, indicated the mother’s return to society. (The ten-day period is still observed in modern-day Iran.)
Medieval Europe
Due to the likelihood a mother would die in childbirth, this time was recognized as having a great risk of spiritual danger in addition to the risk of physical danger. Priests would often visit women during labor so they could confess their sins. After the birth, usually on the same day, a baptism ceremony would take place for the baby. In this ceremony, the godparents would give gifts to the child, including a pair of silver spoons.
Renaissance Europe
Pregnancies at this time were celebrated with many different kinds of birth gifts: functional items, like wooden trays and bowls, as well as paintings, sculptures, and food. Childbirth was seen as almost mystical, and mothers-to-be were often surrounded with references to the Annunciation by way of encouragement and celebration.
Victorian Britain and North America
Victorian women would keep their pregnancies secret, upholding cultural standards of proper behavior, but after the baby was born, other women would often hold tea parties for the new mother. Superstitions sometimes led to speculation that a woman might be pregnant, such as two teaspoons being accidentally placed together on a saucer. Gifts were usually hand-made, but the grandmother would give silver.
Modern North America
With the consumer ideology of the 1950s and 1960s, the modern baby shower started during the baby boom era and served the function of providing the mother and her home with material goods. This started the tradition of “showering” the mother with gifts, and brought about a more relaxed atmosphere with regards to the pregnancy.
While continuing the traditions from the 1950s, modern technology has changed the form a baby shower takes: games can include identifying baby parts on an sonogram, and while traditional baby showers were female-exclusive, mixed-sex showers have increased in prevalence.

The words in italics are from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baby_shower

We use to just hold baby showers in our homes but a lot of baby showers are held in rented halls. We start out by sending out the invitations to our family and friends. We also need to get decorations, banners and food to make the shower a success. Lot of baby showers also has games at the party.

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