Baby Showers! A wonderful time to have family and friends around to celebrate the impending birth of a beautiful baby girl or boy. It's a time where gifts are given, games are played, and the mommy-to-be is showered with adoration. A real fun time and memorable experience.
But...
What are the origins of baby showers? Where did the tradition come from? Is it really as innocent and sweet as it seem?
*I had to asked myself, are ANY of the holidays/traditions we're taught to celebrate
innocent and
sweet?...I think
NOT!*
Now, I gotta put this out there... I would be a true hypocrite if I said I have never had, or even recently contemplated having, a baby shower. I definitely think they are really fun and very memorable; however I decided in my heart/mind that I would do what is right in the eyes of the Lord...with that said, let's keep going.
Now, if you've been following my blog you know that I've been researching/posting videos disclosing the truth about all of the major
pagan holidays celebrated in our society. Well just like I have disclosed the truth on all of the mainstream holidays and
traditions, I am also going to disclose the truth about the seemingly sweet and innocent baby shower celebration.
Here are a two excerpts, from an article and the book of Jasher, I hope will help you gain more clarity on whether or not followers of the Heavenly Father should partake in such ceremonies/traditions.
*The links for both websites will be at the bottom of the page*
Ancient Egypt
While the ancient Egyptians did not hold baby showers as we know them today, they did observe rituals associated with birth and pregnancy. However, the details surrounding the rituals of childbirth and pregnancy are difficult to study in detail because they were essentially female-centered events. In addition, as in many cultures, both ancient and modern, Egyptian celebrations associated with childbirth took place after the birth. Soon after the infant’s arrival, the mother and child in the Old Kingdom were secluded so that the pollution of birth could be contained and eliminated, often for 14 days. There is also evidence that certain domestic rituals took place after 40 days (Johnston 2004).
Though the nature of these rituals is unclear, they most likely involved visiting temples or local shrines and included the ritualized disposal of the after-birth, such as the umbilical cord and the placenta. Archaeological evidence from the site of the New Kingdom village of Deir el-Medina mentions “the festival of so-and-so’s” daughter, which may refer to a gathering or celebration after the birth during which the baby was named to mark its identity and suggest rights and privileges (Johnston 2004). These rituals of inclusion underscored broader identities and membership in the larger community.
Ancient Greece
Like the Egyptians, ancient Greeks celebrated pregnancy after the birth of the child. When the child was born, both the mothers and attendants shouted oloyge (a strident noise) to signal the labor was over and peace had arrived. Immediately after the umbilical cord was cut, the baby and mother were bathed, though they would remain impure for 10 days and their helpers for five days (Gelis 1991).
On the fifth or seventh day after birth, the child would be welcomed by a ceremony called Amphidromia (Running Round) in which the father would walk around the hearth several times, symbolizing the infant’s integration into the household. In a ritual called Dekate (Tenth Day) the mother would return to her place in society marked by a meal attended by her close relatives and friends. (In modern Iran, family members still visit the mother on the tenth day after birth.) Mothers would dedicate gifts to the main birth-goddess Eileithyia (whose sanctuary was found at the edge of the city), such as girdles, dresses, and other objects associated with birth (Johnston 2004). For many women, giving birth was the only way for them to gain recognition in a male world, and childless marriages ran a greater risk for divorce.
.
The following excerpts are from the Book of Jasher:
"1
And it was in the night that Abram was born,
that
all the servants of Terah,
and all the wise men of Nimrod,
and his conjurors came and ate and drank in the house of Terah, and they rejoiced
with him on that night. 2 And when all the wise men and conjurors
went out from the house of Terah, they lifted up their eyes toward heaven that
night to look at the stars, and they saw, and behold one very large star came
from the east and ran in the heavens, and he swallowed up the four stars from
the four sides of the heavens. 3 And all the wise men of the king and his
conjurors were astonished at the sight, and the sages understood this matter,
and they knew its import. 4 And they said to each other, This only betokens the
child that has been born to Terah this night, who will grow up and be fruitful,
and multiply, and possess all the earth, he and his children for ever, and he
and his seed will slay great kings, and inherit their lands. 5 And the wise men
and conjurors went home that night, and in the morning all these wise men and
conjurors rose up early, and assembled in an appointed house. 6 And they spoke
and said to each other, Behold the sight that we saw last night is hidden from
the king, it has not been made known to him. 7 And should this thing get known
to the king in the latter days, he will say to us, Why have you concealed this
matter from me, and then we shall all suffer death; therefore, now let us go
and tell the king the sight which we saw, and the interpretation thereof, and
we shall then remain clear. 8 And they did so, and they all went to the king
and bowed down to him to the ground, and they said, May the king live, may the
king live. 9 We heard that a son was born to Terah the son of Nahor, the prince
of thy host, and
we yesternight came to his house, and we ate and drank and rejoiced
with him that night."
-If you are familiar with the story (detailed heavily in the Book of Jasher) of Abram, you would know that his father, Terah, was Nimrod's "right hand man" and he happily lived like all of the Babylonian's did in that time. In the excerpts above it stated that Terah
rejoiced, ate, and drank with his friends/(family) and servants. If you are familiar with the story of Terah, you would know that
he was a pagan and worshiped false gods...but later in his life, he denounced his former ways of living and lived uprightly until the time of his death.
By now I hope you're asking yourself..."Do I really think the Father wants me to partake in things of this nature? Why aren't any birth celebrations noted in the Bible, especially in the old testament?"
Now please understand, I get where people are coming from when they say or think baby showers (birthdays, etc.) are harmless celebrations (I use to celebrate them too). However, if you are a true believer of the Word of God, you will dedicate yourself to pursuing what is
truth, learning what it is He really wants you to do/follow, and actually
living in a way that is in accordance to His word.
Hopefully, I have peaked your interest in this subject. As always, please research these things on your own and allow the Father to be the one leading your life. I truly believe He will show you the way to truth...the question is, are you going to accept it?
(Don't be like her!)
Ritual and Ceremony: A History of Baby Showers
The Book of Jasher (chapter 8)
If you haven't read this book yet, please take some time to do so. It will blow your mind greatly!
The picture to the left is an Indigenous Chickasaw female with her child. Notice the date to the bottom left of 1832. 
Columbia, shown full-length standing to left, holding a standard showing the stars and stripes and an eagle, looking at two Indigenous males wearing feathered head-dresses. circa 1798 .
