Bridal Shower
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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. 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 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..."

This custom is an American one. In other countries gifts are given at the wedding itself or sent to the couple's new home after the event.

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Economy
The gross state product of Florida in 2005 was $596 billion. Personal income was $30,098 per capita, ranking 26th in the nation.

Florida's economy relies heavily on tourism. About 60 million visitors visit the state every year. Warm weather and hundreds of miles of beach attract vacationers from around the world. The Walt Disney World Resort, a mega-resort consisting of four theme parks, more than twenty hotels, water parks, shopping centers, and other attractions, is an important tourist attraction located in Lake Buena Vista. Together, Walt Disney World, and other theme park resorts such as Universal Orlando Resort and SeaWorld, are an important driver of the Central Florida economy.

Other major industries include citrus fruit and juice production, banking, and phosphate mining within the Bone Valley region. With the arrival of the space program at Kennedy Space Center in the 1960s, Florida has developed a sizeable aerospace industry. The state did not have a state minimum wage law until November 2, 2004, when voters passed a constitutional amendment establishing a state minimum wage and mandating that it be adjusted for inflation every six months.

Historically, Florida's economy was based upon cattle farming and agriculture (especially sugarcane, citrus, tomatoes, and strawberries). In the early 1900, land speculators discovered Florida, and Plant and Henry Flagler developed railway systems, which led people to move in, drawn by the weather and local economies. From then on, tourism boomed, fueling a cycle of development and tourism that overwhelmed a great deal of farmland.

In 2004 and 2005, key industries along the west coast—commercial fishing and water-based tourist activities (sports fishing and diving)—were threatened by outbreaks of red tide, a discoloration of seawater caused by an efflorescence of toxin-producing dinoflagellates.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/