The Bigger the Better! How Texas Homecoming Mums Got So Huge
Texas homecoming mums turn school spirit into an art form, one ribbon, rhinestone, and cowbell at a time. Image: Facebook / Homecoming Mums and Garters by Texas Traditions Mums
In Texas, homecoming has all the familiar ingredients: Friday night lights, marching bands, packed bleachers, and enough school spirit to fill a stadium. But there’s one accessory that tends to upstage them all. Part corsage, part scrapbook, part wearable work of art, the Texas homecoming mum is a tradition that takes the phrase “bigger is better” quite literally.
Today’s mums can stretch from shoulder to ankle, jingling with bells and trailing yards of ribbon. Some light up. Others play music. Many are so large they’re worn around the neck rather than pinned to a shirt. But the custom began much more simply — with a single flower.
From Corsage to Texas Institution
Chrysanthemums became popular homecoming flowers in the early 20th century, when a young man might present his date with a live mum corsage. The ritual isn’t originally Texan — early homecoming celebrations involving chrysanthemums have been traced outside the state — but Texas, unsurprisingly, made it its own, with some of the first documented photographs dating to the 1930s.
For decades, mums remained relatively modest, accented with ribbons in school colors, while girls often gave their dates a smaller arm-worn version called a garter. Along the way, fresh flowers gave way to sturdier artificial blooms that could survive a full day of classes, pep rallies, and football, leaving plenty of room for embellishment — and Texans took full advantage.
By the 1990s, mums had evolved into the oversized creations now synonymous with Lone Star State high schools.
Anatomy of a Modern Mum
At the center is typically one or more silk chrysanthemums, surrounded by layers of ribbon and decorative backing. From there, almost anything goes.
School colors remain the foundation, with ribbons looped, curled, braided, or printed with the student’s name and class year. The number of flowers can be a status symbol, too, ranging from a single mum for first-year students to four or more for upperclassmen. Then come the extras: cowbells, metallic garlands, feathers, beads, charms, miniature footballs, mascot cutouts, rhinestones, stuffed animals, and enough glitter to clear out a craft-store aisle. Even LEDs have made their way onto the scene!
Seniors have their own traditions, too. At many schools, white and metallic gold or silver replace the usual school colors, making that final mum instantly recognizable.
Making It Personal
Students are increasingly trading strict school-color palettes for personality-heavy details like favorite colors, fashion-forward prints, family photographs, and even elaborate pop-culture themes, such as Harry Potter and Bridgerton. Others pay homage to favorite restaurants or brands, including that most Texan of institutions, Whataburger.
And just when it seemed mums couldn’t possibly get any bigger, students have gone smaller. Miniature versions designed to decorate Stanley-style tumblers have appeared, with tiny flowers and plenty of bling.
DIY mums have also kept the tradition firmly in the family. Loved ones and friends gather around piles of ribbon, hot glue, and carefully chosen trinkets, creating something meant for one Friday night, but held on to for years afterward.
And that may be the secret to the mum’s staying power. Beneath all those details and hours of work is something remarkably sentimental: a wearable time capsule of one fleeting high school fall.
Here’s to Texas-sized school traditions!
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Anne Marie Hanna
An Ole Miss alum residing in Nashville, Anne Marie is passionate about telling the stories shaping the South. Outside of work, you’ll likely find her on a porch with a coffee and a good book, gardening, listening to music, or enjoying time with friends and family.
