Mum's Still the Word in Texas

It's late October, and homecoming season is in full swing. "Are you going to the dance?" is what everyone wants to know. It's time for Friday night lights, and the Star Spangled Banner, and the exciting moment when football players burst through long signs held by cheerleaders. It's time for drill teams stepping in matching boots and bands waiting for their cue, polished instruments raised.

And, in Texas, it's time for the homecoming mum. I wondered if this tradition might have fallen to the wayside, but judging from the photos recently posted by my friends on Facebook, the mum is not only around, but has gotten bigger, bolder, and more pimped out than ever.

For those unaware of the phenomenon, the homecoming mum is a corsage formed around a single flower: a mega-sized chrysanthemum. To the right is a photo of a mum that I wore in 1981 to a Jersey Village High School homecoming game and dance. Hanging from the mum were floor-length ribbons, in my school's colors. My school's name and other various things were written on the ribbons in glitter. And if the visual of the mum itself did not attract enough attention, there was a dangling cowbell to announce my arrival.

The tradition was so widespread that you could actually order your mums in the cafeteria; it was a fund-raiser for the school. You would pick up your mum on Friday, and wear it to the homecoming game and dance that night. At the game, the stadium would be filled with girls picking their way up stadium steps--in high heels, of course--trying not to trip on the long ribbons.

But the mum I wore in 1981 is downright humble compared to the mums of today. Angela Perry, of Mom’s Custom Made Mums in Corpus Christi, has graciously agreed to let me post of few of her creations. The mums, which can range in price from $15.50 to $150 (for the "Cascading Heart" to the left), go a long way to proving the adage that everything's bigger in Texas.

According to Janna Lewis, of the Fort Hood (Texas) Sentinel, "They have been around as long as I can remember and the mums represent the admiration a young woman inspires in people who know her...The bigger the mum, the greater the love."

Doing a little research on the web, I found that you can show your love in a whole host of ways. You can order a single, double or triple mum. You can have a "satellite" mum connected to your main mum (as pictured to the right). You can have your name and your date's written in pre-pressed gold letters or in old-school glitter ("retro lettering"). You can accessorize with teddy bears, feathers, disco balls, battery-operated lights, or just about anything you can imagine. According to the McAdams Floral blog, "For the truly extravagant, florists in larger Texas cities provide 14-karat gold jewelry trinkets."

Trinkets, such as megaphones and musical symbols, identify your involvement in school and personal interests. And in a surprising development since 1982, the guys are now wearing smaller, matching "garter" mums.

Over-the-top? Yes. Outrageously cumbersome? Absolutely. But show up without one for your date and you're toast.