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 state's gross domestic product for 2004 was US$43.6 billion. The per capita income for 2004 was US$26,881.

Idaho is an important agricultural state, producing nearly one third of the potatoes grown in the United States. Other important agricultural products are beans, lentils, sugar beets, cattle, dairy products, wheat, and barley.

Important industries in Idaho are food processing, lumber and wood products, machinery, chemical products, paper products, electronics manufacturing, silver and other mining, and tourism. The Idaho National Laboratory (INL), a government lab for nuclear energy research, is also an important part of the eastern Idaho economy.

Although Idaho's dependence on mining has decreased, the state remains a top producer of silver and lead. Today, Idaho's industrial economy is growing, with high-tech products leading the way. Since the late 1970s, Boise has emerged as a center for semiconductor manufacturing. Boise is the home of Micron Technology Inc., the only U.S. manufacturer of dynamic random access memory (DRAM) chips. Hewlett-Packard has operated a large plant in Boise, in southwestern Idaho, since the 1970s, which is devoted primarily to laserjet printer production. Dell, Inc. operates a major customer support call center in Twin Falls.

The state personal income tax ranges from 1.6 percent to 7.8 percent in 8 income brackets. Idahoans may apply for state tax credits for taxes paid to other states, as well as for donations to Idaho state educational entities and some nonprofit youth and rehabilitation facilities.

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