Bridal shower
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A bridal shower is a party given for a bride before her wedding. Showers are usually coordinated by the bridesmaids, who invite guests to offer gifts for the home of the bride and groom. Traditionally, the maid of honor hosts the shower. Because gifts are required of those who attend the shower, it has been considered rude for a relative of the bride to give it.
The bridal shower is sometimes an all-female affair, analogous to the groom's bachelor party.
The custom of the bridal shower is said to have grown out of earlier dowry practices when a poor woman's family might not have the money to provide a dowry for her, or when a father refused to give his daughter her dowry because he did not approve of the marriage. In such situations, friends of the woman would gather together and bring gifts that would compensate for the dowry and allow her to marry the man of her choice.
The earliest use of this sense of the word in print may be in the Grand Rapids Michigan Evening Press 22 June 4, 1904: "The ‘shower parties’ that through mistaken hospitality the wedded couple are forced to attend..."
See also
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