Explaining the Texas Tradition of Mums — Bringing Homecoming Home With Striking Stories and Images

Texas is made of traditions in many ways. The rush of homecoming for students in the South reveals itself in a unique way in the Lone Star State. During football season in many Texas schools, mums (short for chrysanthemums) fill the halls of each high school building.

Amy J. Schultz’s new New York Times-recommended book Mumentous explores the extravagant homecoming style of the South. It sheds light on the significant story of the mum — an arrangement of ribbons, flowers, and charms worn to homecoming football events. The award-winning photographer explores the surviving tradition through black-and-white photos, personal experience, and secondhand stories.

Schultz was born in Florida, but Arlington has become her home. So Texan or not, almost any reader can connect with a page in Mumentous.

“I entered the tradition through the stories that my friends were telling me about their kids,” Schultz says.

To write Mumentous, Schultz spoke with high school seniors at local football games about their detailed and exquisite mums. “As the student was talking, I saw this moment where she knew this was going to be the last time she did all these things,” Schultz says in reflecting on one interview. “The senior mum is a rite of passage.”  

In a graceful yet sentimental way, Schultz shows how the tradition has evolved and become something for everyone. 

“It is the students and the creative women in their lives that are driving the inclusivity of this tradition forward,” Schultz says. She spoke to students in West Texas who turned the mum tradition into a collaborative project for students with special needs.

“(They) had observed that these kids don’t typically participate in a lot of extracurricular activities,” Schultz says “The day before homecoming, they personally delivered them to the kids and showed them how to wear them.”  

Though the wearing of mums began in the 1930s — back when they were made with real chrysanthemums — modern students have found unconventional ways to carry on the tradition. In one Texas private school homecoming pep rally, a group of girls wore school-colored T-shirts with the words “We gave our mum money to charity” printed across the front of them. 

Beyond the plastic flowers and loud bells lives a deep-rooted reverence for women. The power of unison in Southern women is highlighted when grandmothers, mothers and aunts help bring this tradition to life.

“If women believe in a tradition, they are going to defend it. . . they are going to find a creative way to do it,” Schultz says, “Women exert their power through cooperation rather than competition. That’s how women build our communities.” 

For Schultz, Mumentous is a thank you note to her own mother. She tells the story of her first homecoming mum in the 1980s, and how her mother helped her prune the flower to be a comfortable fit. 

“She made sure that if I wanted to be a part of something, that I could,” Schultz says. 

Mums have become another way for Southern mothers to give their daughters a sense of belonging. Through stories of mothers who plan entire days in school gyms around mums, or who manage full businesses for mum making, Schultz has created a tangible understanding for those who have never seen the other side of the extravagant plastic flowers. 

Texas mums are personal for students and families. Whataburger-themed, origami paper crafted and even Disney mums cultivate a tradition that can be for everyone. Schultz has redefined what it means to make and wear a mum in this ever-changing world. 

“It’s about big hearts, family, love, and community,” Schultz says. “It’s about cherishing legacy.” 

Learn more about Schultz’s Mumentous book here.