Kirsten Kraus | Staff Writer

Sweat beams down her forehead as she makes her final touches. Then stepping back to admire the masterpiece, sophomore Kate Vana wipes the sweat off her brow and releases the breath she has been holding

in. Ribbons hang perfectly from the flower in various shades of blue and silver,  and the bells and charms are embedded without a flaw. Focus, dedication, and determination are needed to complete the painstakingly long process of mum-making.

“I might be making some last minute mums, but I’ve already made about 15,” sophomore Kate Vana said. “Its a cool experience to make and wear mums, and you get to bond with your friends, but it is kind of a waste of money to wear it just for that one day.”

Although mums may look marvelous and painless, the process of making a mum takes an abundance of time and work.

“It’s a painful process. We use hot glue, and I’ve ended up burning myself numerous times. I have a blister on my finger from the hot glue gun also,” sophomore Kate Vana said. “Making a mini-mum takes about 45 minutes, and a bigger mum, probably a little over an hour. They take a lot of time to make, but they come out really good. My mom spent over $200 just on mum supplies for my friends and me, and it was $45 to make one at my friends house.”

Walking through our hallways on homecoming would lead you to assume that everyone knows what a mum is. However, this tradition is only practiced in Texas, and is a foreign concept to many out of state students. Mums started out as a simple, small flower, called the chrysanthemum, decorated with ribbons, and was generally given to a girl by her date. Since then, mums have transformed into a homecoming symbol, increasing in size and popularity.

“I hadn’t heard of mums before I moved to Texas from California last year. I don’t see the point in wearing mums, especially the head mums. Personally, I think they make students look like posers and it isn’t very attractive,” sophomore Selina Fernandez de Lara said. “I don’t think the time and money spent on mums is worth it. The supplies for making them are way overpriced and it’s not worth the money to wear a bunch of ribbon on your shirt for a day.”

To have a mum without spending an enormous amount of money or spending long hours gluing ribbon to a piece of cardboard is an ideal situation for some students. Those students decided they would buy their mums from the school to save themselves the time and work that comes with the excruciating process of making a mum.

“I’m probably gonna buy one this year. I think mums are awesome because they’re a tradition. I think it’s worth it to buy a mum and get it made by someone who knows what they are doing. I helped make the ones from here and they’re really pretty,” freshman Tori Tilson said.

Making fewer mums allows you to keep costs to a minimum and only occupies a fraction of the time.

“I’m making about two mums this year,” junior Breann Largent said. “I’ll probably spend between $15 to $20 on supplies. My mom makes them for me because I’m not creative, but it doesn’t usually take that long.”

Some students wear mums made by their friends and end up wearing various mums in various colors and sizes. Having a collection of mums hanging on your shirt appeals to some people, but others don’t feel the need to have more than a couple.

“I’m okay with just a few, and sometimes after a while they get really annoying,” junior Breann Largent said. “I wore a lot of mums last year, and if someone made one for me, I would wear it.”