Baby Shower - to have or not to have !!!!

In every culture pregnancy and child birth is a very happy and sacred phase not only in a woman's life but also for the family. Traditionally, in Indian culture, pregnant woman is considered very sacred and her well being is taken care by all family, relatives and friends. According to Vedic scriptures 7th month is very special because most of the fetal development has taken place by now. So, in the seventh month a special celebration is organized by the women in the family. All women gather around the mom-to-be and say prayers asking that all will be well with the mom-to-be. Its also a time for fun and pranks. Men are usually kept out and that add to their curiosity - to know what these women are doing afterall.

I am now 8 weeks from my due date and ideally I should have had the 7th celebration by now, and as a matter of fact I did. But since we live here in the States, so far away from home, we didn't celebrate in the traditional way. One Sunday morning on advice of my MIL, I woke up early, bathed and dressed up in new clothes, wore all my jewelry, and headed down to my kitchen to prepare some food and sweets for my 7th months puja (celebration). I made a few dishes, all that I could in this physical state, and my husband I did some puja and asked the gods for their blessings for out baby to be. We then called up all elders of our family to receive their blessings too. I did the virtual charan-sparsh - ah the boons of inetrnet age!
It felt a bit weird at that time and I have to admit I did miss being surrounded by my family at that time, what saddened me most was it was my first pregnancy and I was doing this for myself and there was no big celebration. But I was happy from injust juts to know that my baby-to-be was being blessed by so many wonderful family members and the Gods.

So that was one side of the story. But it would be unfair to complain anything about this situation because when you are loved, it come to you in different forms, through different people. Just like 2 days ago I received a call from a good friend and co-worker insisting that I agree to let her throw me a baby-shower. I was so over-whelmed with her offer that I didn't know what to say. She spent the precious evening time that she would have rather spent talking to her husband after a long work day, or having a nice relaxing dinner, instead, trying to convince me to let her and a couple of other friends (whose names she refused to disclose) organize a baby shower for me and the baby .I was moved and deeply touched by this very kind gesture. I cant thank God enough for surrounding me with such wonderful people in this distant land.

So yes I have yet to decide if I am willing to let them throw me a baby showe. I know my friends are waiting for my response, I just haven't figured it out if I will be comfortable with this idea and most importantly, the idea of a registry. Now that's a whole new topic - "Gift Registry", and being from the background that I am from, its not something I can digest and and adopt to most naturally!