Kacey Musgraves might live in Nashville, but the country singer has never forgotten her Texas roots.
Ahead of an August performance in Toronto, the star was gifted a homecoming mum, a ginormous accessory
filled with chrysanthemums and cascading ribbons, decorated on theme with her Middle of Nowhere Tour.
The country singer, who was raised in Golden, Texas, posted on socials: “Definitely would have gotten in trouble in the hallways with this beast. Thank you, @scotiabankarena, for giving me this fun piece of Texas homecoming culture. 🏈 IYKYK.”
Musgraves isn’t the only one talking about mums. This Texas tradition is blowing up on social media amid homecoming season, with many viewers around the country learning about the phenomenon for the first time.
What is a ‘mum’?
The original homecoming mums were worn at the first-ever homecoming football game in 1911 in Missouri, but the tradition started appearing in Texas during the 1930s, according to Baylor University's homecoming site. The word “mum” is short for the “chrysanthemum” flowers that are the highlight of this floral arrangement. Traditionally, boys gifted their dates these simple homecoming corsages.
Typically, mums are worn to the homecoming game ahead of the dance and are often made in school colors in support of the school’s football team. What started as a corsage for the homecoming dance evolved in popularity and size. Eventually, it became traditional for girls to also gift their dates garters, or smaller mum versions worn on the upper arm.
Today’s mums typically use artificial flowers and may incorporate ribbons, bells, lights and other trinkets that reflect a student’s interests and school involvements. And in the age of social media, the bigger the better.
Why is this Texas tradition taking off on social media?
Social media has contributed to the rapid interest in this tradition around the country over the past five years, according to Miranda Thompson, a mum designer in Boerne, Texas.
"It's just exploded over the years since then,” Thompson says. “I think they wear them more so now to show off, ‘Hey, I can have a bigger one.’”
Videos on TikTok with millions of views show enormous “mega mums” that are nearly 6 feet wide.
Some elementary and middle schoolers with siblings on the high school’s football team may wear 10-or-12-inch “mini mums” to school, according to Thompson, but the tradition really takes place in high school. It’s tradition for freshmen to have small mums, and they grow in complexity as students get older.
When it comes to senior year, the designs often reflect more creativity.
Thompson says she’s designed mums inspired by LoveShackFancy, the clothing brand known for ultra-feminine, floral and lace ruffled dresses, and last year created a monster-themed mum with huge, googly eyes.
Elena Gasparini, a senior at Tomball Memorial High School in Texas, says she incorporated crowns into her mum to reference her pageant title as Miss Tomball, a local beauty-pageant title. Her mum, which is centered around nine flowers, features her initials in sparkling letters, a bright pink feather boa, a striped bow and ribbons in chevron and polka dot patterns.
“There's become a lot more flowers, and they've turned into the monstrosities that they are now,” Gasparini joked.
How much do mums cost?
Thompson says she starts taking orders for next year’s mums as soon as the senior class graduates. She’s already had one parent inquire about booking her now for their daughter’s senior mum in the fall of 2027.
Her average order is a 30-inch mum, but she says that in parts of the state like Dallas, they can range much larger. Videos on TikTok show mums ranging between $50 to $500. The most expensive mums can cost up to $2,000, according to Thompson.
Gasparini says the mums have become a highlight of homecoming.
“It's become a tradition for one of my best friends and I to make our mums together every year,” Gasparini says. “Every year, we always joke that we have to outdo ourselves from the previous year.”
Rachel Hale’s role covering Youth Mental Health at USA TODAY is supported by a partnership with Pivotal and Journalism Funding Partners. Funders do not provide editorial input. Reach her at rhale@usatoday.com and @rachelleighhale on X.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: What is a Texas homecoming mum? Why they keep getting bigger
