San Antonio, Texas: High School Homecoming Mums
During our trip to San Antonio, Mike and I took a break and went to Michaels Arts and Crafts. We went there to look at arts supplies and just relax. We have Michaels in Salt Lake City, so we thought it would be a familiar reminder of home. Instead, it was a very different store. There were two full aisles of ribbons in bright, primary colors. It was so interesting, I took photos. Michaels announced to the residents of Texas that they were your Homecoming Headquarters, but I had never seen anything like this for Homecoming. What was all this stuff?
While I looked at all the ribbons, flowers and megaphones, I became more and more confused. I asked one guy who worked at service desk what it was all about, but he was unable to explain it to me. I returned to the ribbons. A kindly woman said to me, “Ah, it’s Homecoming Time. They’ve got to get their mums ready.” I pounced on her like a housecat left alone too often. With some coaxing, Joan Anderson was willing to explain it all to me.
Texas sure does love their high school football. Using the artificial mums, ribbons and other decorations, you can create a Homecoming Mum. They are for girls and they wear them to the Homecoming game. It’s not for the dance, just the game (you get real flowers for the dance). This is only for football. Basketball doesn’t get this kind of attention.
I don’t know if this is still the case, but Joan says that the boys’ mothers would make the mums so the boys could give them to the girls they like best. A girl could have many different mums from many boys. The girl with the most mums is the most popular.
“Look there. There’s one over here that has three mums on it. This girl would have to be very special, wouldn’t she?”
Part of me wants to get a whole pile of mums from every boy in town. I want to be the girl with the most mums. I want to be very special. This Texan practice feels very guttural to me. I can feel it in my bones and gut. We had nothing like this in Salt Lake City, Utah. Who knew I would find something so unique and foreign a mere 1800 miles away.
For more information:
Homecoming - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: A brief mention of the practice is here.
How to Make Homecoming Mums This site also has a brief history about the tradition.
How to Make Homecoming Mums Elaborate and detailed instructions on how to make them from scratch without the help of Michaels Arts and Crafts.
Found your blog by searching Texas mums. Great little piece about Homecoming Mums. I went to school in Texas as a little girl and we had this tradition in Del Rio along the border where I grew up. Ours were real mums. We would dangle cow bells and jingle bells from the ribbons. I got my first mum from my mom in 4th grade for our elementary homecoming. Back then we didn’t know we were supposed to get them from boys. My 5th grade year, I got a Del Rio High School mum from a family friend (a high school boy!) because all of the little drill teams from the 5 elementary schools were to perform at the High School’s Homecoming game (yes, read pee wee Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders!) We all thought that we were big stuff back then. I strutted my stuff and told everyone that I got a mum from a high school football player…who wasn’t my brother!
Thank you for the memories. We live on Oahu and I think that this year I will make one for my daughter’s birthday! Maybe I can start a new tradition here…
Maggie
Comment by Maggie — September 17, 2007 @ 11:07 pm
I’m 58 & have gotten a homecoming mum every year since the 7th grade, i have 3 sons & a daughter, made mums for the boys girlfriends & my daughter until she was old enough to get them from boys…now I’m a grandmother & this is my 4th year to make them for my g.son & his 2 best friends who have adopted me as their Na Na, I have 2 more yrs making theirs for high school then we start college, & the other 4 g.kids will be ready to step up & start getting theirs!!!
mums are a great part of being Texan!!!!!!!!!!!
Comment by Rebekah — October 10, 2007 @ 9:03 pm
Good article… I was searching this to see if mums are a tradition all over the u.s., and I guess I got my answer. However, I wanted to add a few things: mums are only for girls, but guys get garters that girls make (or the girl’s mom). A garter is just like a mum but smaller, and instead of being hung around the neck it is attached to a garter which is worn around the arm. Also, the exchange of garters and mums isn’t nearly the same as the story you were told. Your date to the homecoming dance makes your garter or mum for you, and everyone in your homecoming group gets together and exchanges the mums/garters with their dates the day before the football game. People only wear one mum or garter; they’re so big and bulky I couldn’t imagine wearing more than one! Also, they get bigger the older you are: freshman only have one flower (or one bunch of flowers), which sophomores have two, juniors have three, and seniors have three but in gold or silver and white instead of your school colors.
Comment by curios texan — October 30, 2007 @ 11:32 am