TEXAS — Everything is bigger in Texas — the food portions, the hats and the Texan pride. One of the most recognizable is the homecoming mum.

Homecoming season is right around the corner for most high schools in Texas, and that means participating in one of the most cherished Texas traditions. Homecoming season brings festivities, parades and decorations to the cities, and high school students proudly wear oversized mums. 

The word “mum” is short for “chrysanthemum,” the flower that anchors the design of the artificial arrangement. The giant corsage includes a wide array of decor, such as ribbon, glitter and bells. The male version of a mum is a garter, a smaller version of the mum typically worn around the arm. 

According to Texas Highways, the mum tradition originated in Missouri, which, in 1911, hosted the first-ever homecoming football game. College homecoming games emerged as a way to honor returning alumni and residents with parades, dances and celebrations.

Flowers, especially fall-blooming chrysanthemums, were always a main part of the homecoming festivities. Since then, it was tradition for young men to present a mum corsage to their homecoming date.

A florist in Texas elevated the tradition and added school-colored ribbons to the corsage, giving birth to the well-known Texas mum. The first-ever mum to be spotted in Texas was in 1936 at a Baylor University football game.

Since then, it expanded across Texas and has become an elaborate tradition. Texas high schools adopted the college-inspired homecoming game and mum corsage in the 1960s. 

Historically, the mum worn was a simple chrysanthemum with ribbons attached that would be pinned to a girl’s clothing. But now, the real flowers have been replaced by artificial ones so the mum can be stored as a keepsake. In the 1990s, mums started to become more elaborate and grew in size.

No longer solely restricted to being gifted from dates, mums now can be bestowed by friends, family members, or even created by the wearers themselves.