As homecoming events grew, so did the mums, and it became customary for boys to give their dates a chrysanthemum corsage. Originally simple, with a small flower and a few ribbons, the mum evolved ...

a homecoming mum. Mums were originally simple flowers or chrysanthemums given to a girl by her date. By the 1970s, mums began to bloom. The homecoming mums began to get larger and more elaborate.