Homecoming is all about the anticipation and preparation. With so many competitions and so many decorations, it’s easy to forget what homecoming is all about. Homecoming dates back to the early 19th century at the University of Missouri. The Director of Athletics, Chester L. Brewer had the idea to invite all of the alumni back for the annual football game against the University of Kansas. Since all of the alumni were coming ‘home’ this tradition was where the name ‘homecoming’ was coined.

This soon became a big deal as more than 9,000 graduates would come back for this game. They started doing parades and spirit events in anticipation for this game. But it wasn’t just about football, though that was cause for excitement. It was more about the family; a whole school coming together to cheer each other on. This didn’t just impact that week, either. People who hadn’t felt very included at school were soon making new friends and feeling more of a family connection with their peers and the alumni had the opportunity to come back and visit the place that had developed who they were and to connect with people they probably wouldn’t have ever seen again.

Today when we think of homecoming, we often think of a bunch of high schoolers packed into a hot gym with about one square foot of room all jumping up and down to the booming music but surprisingly, it didn’t start with a high school. In fact, it started with colleges but soon, everyone wanted to join in and the tradition quickly spread to colleges across the nation and then to high schools and now, just about every high school hosts a homecoming dance once a year.

But how does all of this relate to Lutheran? While all of the games are very fun and the dance is a night to remember, we have to remember the roots of homecoming: family and connection. So hopefully when you look back on homecoming this year, you remember the fun but you also remember the new friends or deeper connections you made throughout the week.