For any of y'all that don't know, homecoming is pretty big deal in the South. People quickly pair up as "dates" claiming each other for the day with the promise of a good instagram picture. Dozens of alums return to their old high schools to watch the football game and reminisce with one another about their supposed "glory days." And finally, the most important part: the mums and the garters. To those of you who don't know what the hell a mum/garter is, it is an old southern tradition. The boys make mums for the girls and the girls make garters for the boys. They are meant to be in your school colors until you are a senior, in which case they should be white, silver and black. They also generally have a stuffed animal in the center, usually a teddy bear. Since it's somewhat difficult to describe just what exactly a mum is, I think it might just be easier to show you...
This is a garter:
And this a mum:
And just to prove that this is in fact tradition:
The idea of these things is to make them as loud as possible, so, what you can't see in the picture is that there are in fact cowbells, jingle bells, and nosy beads everywhere. I would also like to mention that these are meant to be worn at school (our teachers just LOVE homecoming). In fact, if you were to step into my high school on homecoming at a passing period, you would have thought a herd of cattle was coming your way. And all of this is worn over our nice dresses and suits which will then be subjected to the pins you have to use just to secure the damn things on. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm all for tradition and what not, but as far as traditions go, these things are pretty ridiculous. Not only do you wear them to school, you have to wear them to the football game too. Outside. Where it's 95 degrees.
And, even after thinking they were the dumbest things I had ever seen fro three years, I too, gave in and wore a mum. In fact, the pictures shown above are of my mum, and the garter was that of my date. Senior's mums have to be the biggest, so not only did my mum weigh about five pounds, it also was so long that it grazed the tops of my feet and may I just say, trying to clime stairs with those things should be listed as a safety hazard. The best way I can describe wearing a mum is that it's sort of like what I imagine how being pregnant is. You have all of this extra weight that seems to have come out of nowhere, you can't see your feet, everyone is always asking to touch it and every wants to know the name of your date. Now, for as negative as I'm sure this all sounded, (uncomfortable mum aside) homecoming can actually be pretty fun. I guess traditions are only as good as you make them.
Well, not that there is anyone reading this, but if someone is, please comment and tell me about what homecoming is like where you're from. Do you have it at all? Are you also subjected to weird traditions? Let me know in the comments. Y'all come back now, ya hear? (:
The idea of these things is to make them as loud as possible, so, what you can't see in the picture is that there are in fact cowbells, jingle bells, and nosy beads everywhere. I would also like to mention that these are meant to be worn at school (our teachers just LOVE homecoming). In fact, if you were to step into my high school on homecoming at a passing period, you would have thought a herd of cattle was coming your way. And all of this is worn over our nice dresses and suits which will then be subjected to the pins you have to use just to secure the damn things on. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm all for tradition and what not, but as far as traditions go, these things are pretty ridiculous. Not only do you wear them to school, you have to wear them to the football game too. Outside. Where it's 95 degrees.
And, even after thinking they were the dumbest things I had ever seen fro three years, I too, gave in and wore a mum. In fact, the pictures shown above are of my mum, and the garter was that of my date. Senior's mums have to be the biggest, so not only did my mum weigh about five pounds, it also was so long that it grazed the tops of my feet and may I just say, trying to clime stairs with those things should be listed as a safety hazard. The best way I can describe wearing a mum is that it's sort of like what I imagine how being pregnant is. You have all of this extra weight that seems to have come out of nowhere, you can't see your feet, everyone is always asking to touch it and every wants to know the name of your date. Now, for as negative as I'm sure this all sounded, (uncomfortable mum aside) homecoming can actually be pretty fun. I guess traditions are only as good as you make them.
Well, not that there is anyone reading this, but if someone is, please comment and tell me about what homecoming is like where you're from. Do you have it at all? Are you also subjected to weird traditions? Let me know in the comments. Y'all come back now, ya hear? (:
