The Texas Tradition of The Mum

Homecoming Mums, an enormous corsage tradition, are popular in Texas and not really anywhere else. Native Texans are so accustomed to the pageantry that surrounds Homecoming, they don’t even realize that this isn’t a tradition the rest of the country has adopted.

“Mum,” short for the flower chrysanthemum, is the flower of choice in Texas as its peak is during the Fall season and most schools’ Homecomings are in October. Homecoming itself is a tradition where graduates come home for a weekend to their high school. The entire occasion is centered around the Friday night football game. With alumni welcomed back for this weekend, the “Homecoming Game” is a very big deal. It’s Friday Night Lights in Texas and everyone is watching.

Friday night’s game is usually followed by a Saturday night Homecoming dance for the high school students. However, the Mum is traditionally worn to the game, not to the dance. As a corsage is usually worn to a dance, it’s easy for non-natives to confuse this part.

It depends on who you ask, but it seems that the Mum corsage tradition started sometime in the 1950s. A boy would ask a girl to the football game and dance by gifting her with a chrysanthemum. If she said yes, the girl would wear the Mum to the Friday night football game.

Over the years, the Mum has evolved from a simple corsage to a giant display of ribbons and trinkets, most several feet long and secured with a neck strap. These days, it’s popular to take it one step further. If a boy really likes the girl, he takes the time to find out what she likes. For example, if she runs track and plays the trumpet, her mum might be decked out in track and field and trumpet flair. In return, the girl or her parents will put together a garter for the boy to wear on his arm that complements the girl’s Mum.

Mums are popular all over the state of Texas, but it seems like they’re a bigger deal in small towns than big cities. In small town Texas, there typically isn’t much else going on Friday night. Everyone is at the football game. Maybe that’s why the fanfare is on a larger scale, as pretty much the whole town gets involved. In addition to this, it’s not uncommon to see students as young as kindergarten wearing Mums during Homecoming week.

Godley is no stranger to this time-honored tradition and we’re lucky enough to have a couple local Mum experts. Jenny Flores, owner of J Flo’s is known for her events and custom gift baskets. She’s also a very talented Mum maker. Victoria Hernandez, originally from Monahans in West Texas, is also an experienced artisan. Following in the footsteps of her Aunt, who handmade custom Mums in West Texas, Victoria loves all things arts and crafts. Ladies like this do it because they love it. They do it because it brings them joy to create joy for others.

If the idea of the Texas Mum tradition overwhelms you, know that we have a lot of resources here. Each year, mothers in our community come together and help each other out. You can usually find Facebook posts on local pages about Mums, how to make them and where to find them, leading up to Homecoming Week. Some start as early as August. Maybe more than any other time of year, it’s during Homecoming that the whole town comes together. There is so much anticipation and excitement surrounding it and, of course, a whole lot of ribbon.

In a nutshell...

1. The term “Mum” is short for the chrysanthemum flower.

2. Traditionally, boys gift the girl they ask to Homecoming with a “Mum.” She makes a matching arm garter for him.

3. Today’s Mums are often personalized with hobbies, milestones, and favorite things.

4. Mums are usually worn to the Friday night football game.

5. Expect to spend upwards of $250 for a custom Mum.