FOR ANTIGO TIMES

Prom is steeped in traditions. According to Merriam-Webster, prom dates back to the late nineteenth century, when colleges and universities held formal dinners for students on the cusp of graduation. The dinners intended to instill lessons of etiquette in students before they left campus and entered the professional world.

While prom has since become a celebration for high school students, tradition and formality remain a big part of prom night. Prom traditions have come and gone, and the “promposal” is one custom that has gained some steam in recent years. The promposal is a relatively recent phenomenon, and that means parents of prom-bound teenagers may have no idea what the term means.

What is a promposal?

Merriam-Webster notes that the word “promposal” dates back to 2011. However, a 2001 story in the Dallas Morning News highlighted two young men’s extraordinary efforts when asking their dates to prom (both dates accepted the promposal), suggesting that the tradition of the promposal, if not the word itself, dates back at least two decades.

Asking someone to prom and being asked to prom has always been a big deal for a vast number of teenagers. “Will you go to prom with me?” is a question that can make those asking it tremble while delighting those on the receiving end of the question. But the promposal takes things one (or several) steps further.

A promposal is an elaborate way to ask someone to prom. Flowers and candles may be involved, and friends may serve as play actors to make the promposal even more unique. There are no rules governing promposals, though they must be more elaborate than simply asking, “Will you go to prom with me?” Props are often used, and there are seemingly no limits that young people won’t go to when crafting a promposal.

Parents who want to get involved in their teenagers’ promposals may not have too great a role, but they can emphasize that the promposal remain both safe and respectful of the person being asked.

Promposals might not be the oldest tradition associated with prom night, but they can be a great way for teenagers to make an already special night that much more unique.