Fall is filled with so many special traditions that we love to pass down through the years, from the nervous excitement of the first day of school or class photo day to the thrills of homecoming dances and football games played under Friday night lights.
But each of these traditions that feel like such a natural part of our school year obviously had to start somewhere. So where did these great traditions come from, and why have they persisted?
The very first homecoming game is thought to be the 1911 college football matchup between the Missouri Tigers and the Kansas Jayhawks, which rekindled a rivalry dating back to 1891. Missouri invited its alumni to “come home” and cheer for the Tigers, and the celebration included a parade and a bonfire pep rally — all of which have become annual hallmarks of homecoming weekends at high schools and colleges all across the US.
The class yearbook dates back to 1806, when Yale started the tradition long before photography even existed. In 1845, Waterville High School in Waterville, NY, became the first high school to adopt the idea. A few years later, in 1860, photographer George Warren is credited with creating the first photo-illustrated college yearbook for Rutgers.
Why are we still keeping these traditions alive over 100 years later? Because connecting with other people is what gives life meaning, and our traditions are a way of connecting with people across generations — and even across centuries.
For example, when you see Baldwin High School alumni cheering in the stands at a homecoming game, you’re seeing people who walked the same halls, played on the same fields, and felt many of the same highs and lows as you do today. Even if their high school experience (or yours) happened a few years or many decades ago, you know that you have something in common, and you realize you’re not so different.
Likewise, the school photos we take this year may seem like a snapshot of a random day in our students’ lives, but 20 or 50 years from now, those photos will help their classmates remember them and recall the time they spent together. It’s also humbling and refreshing to realize that no matter how intimidating other people may seem, everyone that you encounter was once also sitting nervously in front of their own high school portrait photographer, hoping they didn’t blink as the flash went off.
The best traditions survive because they do three things: they serve a useful purpose, they help us feel connected in a special way, and they create memories that we can hold close for the rest of our lives. This fall, I hope you find time to enjoy our school traditions and your own family traditions. And if you feel inspired to gather some friends or family and start a new tradition this year, it just might be something people will still be doing a generation or a century from now, making new memories and special connections that last throughout the years.