subject: The Last Parties Of Being Single [print this page] Before the wedding, there are two separate events that celebrates the couple's last days of being single. This events are commonly called around the world as stag or bachelor party (for the groom) and Bridal shower (for the bride). These parties usually done days or even the day before the actual wedding. So what are the usual things that happen within a bachelor party and a bridal shower.
Last Party For the Boys
A bachelor party (United States, Canada, South Africa), stag party, stag night, or stag do (Canada, UK, Ireland, and New Zealand), bull's party (South Africa), or buck's party or buck's night (Australia) is a party held for a bachelor shortly before he enters marriage, to make the most of his final opportunity to engage in activities a new partner might not approve of, or merely to spend time with his male friends (who are often in his wedding party afterwards).
This particular party is somewhat far from any other kinds of parties. A bachelor party may involve activities beyond the usual party and social gathering ingredients (often drinking alcohol and gambling), such as going to a strip club or hiring a stripper, and in some traditions more hazing-like tests and pranks at the future groom's expense, which shows the whole thing is also a rite of passage from bachelorhood (associated with an adolescent lifestyle, often in the common past of most participants, e.g. in their student years) to "more responsible" marital life.
A Woman's Bridal Shower
A Bridal shower is a gift giving party given for a bride before her wedding. The custom originated in the United States, although the first stories about these events have been known to originate in Brussels, Belgium around 1860. It remains a primarily U.S. and Canadian practice. Showers are usually coordinated by the bridesmaids, who invite guests to offer gifts for the home of the bride and groom.
Many different customs have developed in different regions and social groups. But the basic format has been relatively unchanged for generations, and emphasizes traditional gender roles. Sociologists like Beth Montemurro note that the ritual of the Bridal shower "socializes women into the hyper-feminized traditional wife role," with its emphasis on the future role of the bride-to-be as family cook, homemaker, and sexual partner. But this role is more of an homage to the mothers and grandmothers than a reflection of how the bride-to-be will actually behave in the marriage.
