Yoshikaの英語ワンポイントレッスン Vol. 37
日本とは異なるアメリカの文化を紹介!赤ちゃん誕生を祝う「ベビー・シャワー」とは??
AMERICAN CUSTOMS: BABY SHOWER
It seems there is a baby boom in our country in the past few years. American's view a new baby as a wonderful miracle and there are many right-of-passages that go along with this event. One of the very common, non-religious events is a baby shower. It is a party to celebrate the new baby, before it is born. The party includes fun games, food and gifts for the expectant mother and baby.
The host of the party is usually a family member of the expectant mother, like a mother or sister. Or it can be a close friend. It is usually held on a Sunday afternoon. Many parties include theme's like colors. My baby shower had a baby blue and brown theme. It is a very “oshare" type of party. Attendees usually dress nicely, and bring gifts from the baby registry. A baby registry is a list of items that the expectant mothers want. Stores like Babys R US, Target and Wal-Mart provide baby registries. You can even go online and do it.
Then the people attending the party can go online, look up the name, and find the items that the expectant mother wants.
The main event of the baby shower are the games. There are specific games for baby showers. Some of these include: eating baby food and trying to guess the flavor; who can drink beer out of a baby bottle the fastest; put a diaper on someone while blindfolded; and raffles. Traditionally, the attendees are mostly women but these days more and more baby showers are becoming co-ed.
Attached are some photos from my baby shower!
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