Homecoming is a right of passage for almost any high school student—a parade, a game that even non-football lovers attend, and a dance where all grades are invited to enjoy the night with music and food. Pretty dresses and fancy outfits are picked out, people ask each other out to homecoming, and the student body is united in a way that they normally aren’t, but the question remains: where did the tradition come from?
Well, the concept of homecoming started as a college football celebration. It was the first home game of the season in which alumni would return to their old school. There is a lot of debate about who started, whether it was the University of Missouri, Baylor University, or the University of Illinois, but one thing we can all agree on is that it spread across the country quickly during the early part of the century. During the 1920s, the tradition of homecoming started to spread to high schools. Colleges started to get way too large and were unable to hold these dances. Therefore, the once-college tradition became a high school one.
Throughout the years, the tradition developed, creating a court, week-long activities, and sometimes a parade, depending on the school. Nowadays, homecoming tends to fall really anywhere. Some schools have it on their first home game, last home game, or just any home game. Some schools don’t even have a dance anymore, and they have traded it in for things like tailgates and carnivals. But no matter what, the tradition still stays the same as a way of uniting the student body in a day full of fun and school spirit.
Works Cited
“.” . – YouTube, 24 June 2019, http://www.halloffameplaques.com/blog/the-history-of-homecoming/. Accessed 1 October 2023.
Brooke, Eliza. “The History of Homecoming.” VICE, 31 August 2015, http://www.vice.com/en/article/59mmwa/the-history-of-homecoming. Accessed 1 October 2023.
Twersky, Carolyn, and Leah Campano. “What Is Homecoming? – Homecoming vs. Prom and Why We Celebrate It.” Seventeen Magazine, 24 May 2023, http://www.seventeen.com/fashion/a22093652/what-is-homecoming/. Accessed 1 October 2023.
