Bridal Shower
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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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North Dakota is a U.S. state, the northernmost of the Great Plains states in the Midwestern United States, although during the 19th century it was considered part of the Wild West. The Missouri River flows through the western part of the state, forming Lake Sakakawea behind the Garrison Dam. Formerly part of Dakota Territory (named after the Dakota tribe of Native Americans), North Dakota became a state in 1889. The United States Navy vessels USS North Dakota and Flickertail State were named in honor of North Dakota. Economy The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis estimates that North Dakota's total state product in 2005 was $24.178 billion. Per capita personal income in 2005 was $31 395, 32nd in the nation. North Dakota leads the nation in production of several crops. Agricultural activity is largely dependent on rainfall. Wheat (particularly the durum variety used for pasta), barley, canola, soybeans, sunflowers, and flax are present throughout the state. The wetter Red River Valley is dominated by farms, with the chief crops being sugar beets, soybeans and corn. Cattle ranches are more common in the dry southwest, though dairy ranches are more common toward the east. Honey is produced in the central part of the state. Small quantities of juneberries and grapes support a modest domestic winery industry. The state's relatively small industrial output includes electric power, food processing, machinery (including Bobcat heavy equipment), lignite mining, and tourism. North Dakota has the only state-owned bank in the United States, the Bank of North Dakota. The bank, by law, holds all funds of all state and local government agencies in North Dakota. Its deposits are not guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation but by the state itself. The state also operates the only state-owned mill in the country, the North Dakota Mill and Elevator. North Dakota's reputation for severe weather has been cited by many as a motivating factor behind emigration and the failure of outside industry to locate in the state, though some have found this to be a secondary factor to the overall economic situation in the state. State income taxes are collected through 5 different tax brackets, ranging from 2.1 percent to 5.54 percent. North Dakota allows a credit for the net amount of tax paid to another state on income that is subject to tax by both North Dakota and that other state. North Dakota's sales tax rate is 5 percent. Local subdivisions are also allowed to levy a sales and use tax. This tax rate generally ranges from 1 percent to 3 percent. For the most part, personal property is exempt from property tax. Miscellaneous topics A bill for statehood for North and South Dakota (and Montana, and Washington), the Enabling Act of 1889, was passed on February 22, 1889 during the Administration of Grover Cleveland. It was left to his successor Benjamin Harrison to sign proclamations formally admitting North and South Dakota to the Union on November 2, 1889. However, the rivalry between the northern and southern territories presented a dilemma of which was to be admitted first. So Harrison directed his Secretary of State James Blaine to shuffle the papers and obscure from him which he was signing first, and the actual priority went unrecorded. However, since North Dakota came first in the alphabet, its proclamation was published first in the Statutes At Large; thus it has traditionally been deemed admitted first. The Flickertail State is one of North Dakota's nicknames. The nickname is derived from Richardson's Ground Squirrel (Spermophilus richardsonii), a very common animal in the region. The squirrel constantly flicks its tail in a distinctive manner. In 1953, legislation to make the squirrel the state animal was voted down in the state legislature. State symbols * State bird: Western Meadowlark, Sturnella neglecta * State fish: Northern pike, Esox lucius * State horse: Nokota Horse * State flower: Wild Prairie Rose, Rosa arkansana * State tree: American Elm, Ulmus americana * State fossil: Teredo Petrified wood * State grass: Western Wheatgrass, Pascopyrum smithii (Rydb.) A. Löve * State nicknames: Roughrider State, Flickertail State, Peace Garden State * State mottos: (Great Seal of North Dakota) Liberty and Union, Now and Forever, One and Inseparable (Coat of Arms of North Dakota) Strength from the Soil * State song: North Dakota Hymn * State dance: Square Dance * State march: Flickertail March * State beverage: Milk * State license plate: See the different types over time Source: Wikipedia.org - English