As Lakota West juniors and seniors gear up and ready themselves for this month’s upcoming prom many students ask themselves why prom is prevalent. Why can only juniors and seniors attend?
Prom plays an important role in a school showing its appreciation and pride in graduating or future senior students, allowing students to celebrate graduating or making it to senior year.
The idea of prom was inspired by early 18th and 19th century celebrations known as debutante balls. Usually, they would include women who often danced and performed. As they grew in popularity, they became a regular celebration of coming to society to young elite adults.
However, the earliest celebrations of this kind originate from ancient Greece, “when formal banquets, called “symposia,” were held for elite men to honor their transition into adult society.”
The origins of prom in America are relatively unknown; In 1879 and 1895 there are copies of journals that include mentions of men being invited to a formal “prom” or “ball”.
Over the years, prom and it’s tradition would be modernized and become the norm of high school graduates’ celebrations. It’s now something almost every high school in America hosts. So Lakota students, will you be attending?