Homecoming

In America, we celebrate many things throughout the year, but if you ask yourself why exactly are we celebrating, what is the meaning and origin behind the celebration and what is the purpose of our rituals, many might take pause to answer. Our culture is steeped in tradition, but we can all get caught going through the motions and unless we take the time to explain our traditions to the next generations, their meaning may one day die out and no one will know or understand why we do what we do. May we never reach the point where our future generations merely say “well, just because … it’s what’s always been done.” 

So let’s analyze the origins and etymology of the word “homecoming.” There’s some debate on who actually started the very first homecoming in America, but the majority consensus is that it came from the University of Missouri football game of 1911 where the school’s alumni were invited to the game. 

The idea was that the alumni were, in a fashion, “coming home” to their school and the intent was to bolster pride in the alumni and to compel them to support their former team financially. A major focus of homecoming was to shine a spotlight on and honor the alumni in attendance, sing praises of their glory days of old and lay out the red carpet, so to speak. 

School administrators and coaches saw the relation between instilling a sense of pride in their students and players and giving their alumni a reason to want to return “home” someday and want to support their alma mater. Seeing this, coaches also included things like parades with floats, assemblies, bonfires, pep rallies and school spirit days. 

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