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History of The High School Prom
Prom season is in full swing. The time of year when girls in gowns and boys in badly-fitting tuxedoes ride in limos, stay out past curfew, and pose awkwardly for pictures.
So, here’s a short history of the prom:
• First, the word “prom” is short for ―promenade – the French word for ―walk. It refers to the formal, introductory parade of guests at a party. That’s also why there’s a Promenade Deck on a cruise ship – because it’s designed for walking. 

• The prom as a gathering can be traced back to the 1800s to the simple co-ed banquets held by universities for each year’s graduating class. 

• By the 1940s, they had morphed into the dances we see today. In the 1950s, the economy was in great shape, so high schools stopped holding proms in school gymnasiums, and moved them to fancy hotels and country clubs. 

• In 1975, President Ford’s daughter held her high school’s senior prom at the ultimate party venue: The White House. 

•The prom has continued to evolve. In 1994, a school principal in Alabama was sued for threatening to cancel the prom if interracial couples were allowed to attend. 

• Also, going stag – which used to be considered social suicide – has become the ―in thing to do, with many kids attending in groups rather than as couples, and sometimes even ditching the rented limos for less- expensive rented school buses. 

•Today’s kids no longer invite dates by passing sweaty notes in class. Instead, they’re sending cleverly-worded Tweets or posting creative invitation videos on YouTube.