a baby shower and a wedding shower

[ofriendragon]

Another office tradition is giving parties to celebrate big events ----- baby showers, wedding showers, retirement parties, and the ubiquitous birthday parties.

From the sentence, it can be deduced that both a baby shower and a wedding shower are not possibly real showers. What kind of parties they are?

Many many thanks in advance.

 

[Brioche]

A baby shower is a party where the guests bring presents for a baby.

A wedding shower, or bridal shower is a party where guests bring present for the bride.

 

[ofriendragon]

Thank you.

 

[Full Tilt Boogie]

A baby shower is a party where the guests bring presents for a baby.

A wedding shower, or bridal shower is a party where guests bring present for the bride.

As a cultural reference, and I can't speak for Australia & NZ here, but these practices are predominantly US affairs and not common (if at all) practised in the UK.