“Why
are wedding showers and baby showers called ‘showers’?”
It’s
a good question. We couldn’t find a definitive answer in either R. Brasch’s
“How Did It Begin?” or William S. Walsh’s “Curiosities of Popular Customs.” However,
we’ve always heard the explanation that showers are so-called because the
guest-of-honor is “showered” with gifts. Several websites second the theory, including
BrideAndGroom.com. (It also gives the legend for the origin of the bridal
shower: when a bride’s father withheld her dowry because he didn’t approve of
her husband-to-be, her friends stepped in to provide her with everything she
needed to start her new home.)
The
shower of gifts may also have been a literal one -- Beth Montemurro’s
“Something Old, Something Bold” mentions the
Victorian bridal shower custom of placing small gifts inside a parasol, which
would rain down on the bride-to-be-when opened.
Baby
showers seem to have taken their name from bridal showers. While celebrating
the birth of a baby is a long-held tradition in many cultures, referring to it
as a shower seems to be relatively recent.
For
anyone looking to throw either a baby shower or a bridal shower, Becky Long’s
“Themed Baby Showers,” Courtney Cooke’s “The Best Baby Shower Book,” and
Michelle Adams and Gia Russo’s “Wedding Showers” are available here at the
Newton Falls Public Library.
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