# Why do people in the US get leis at graduation? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 15, 2020, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-in-the-us-get-leis-at-graduation/923042 "2020-10-15T20:49:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2020, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-in-the-us-get-leis-at-graduation/923042/1 "2020-10-15T20:49:14Z")
So pretty shocked that this isn’t answerable with a 10-second [Google](https://www.google.com/search?channel=tus2&client=firefox-b-1-d&q=why+wear+leis+at+graduation), but its not. I get they are traditionally Polynesian, specifically Hawaiian (or at least that is where the US tradition originated). But that doesn’t answer the question how did the Hawaiian traditional gift of a garland of flowers become so synonymous with graduation all over the US? ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2020, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-in-the-us-get-leis-at-graduation/923042/2 "2020-10-15T20:51:01Z")
> [@griffin1977](#): > > But that doesn’t answer the question how did the Hawaiian traditional gift of a garland of flowers become so synonymous with graduation all over the US? Do you have a cite for it being “so synonymous with graduation all over the US”? Because I’ve been to a number of graduations in the Midwest (grade school, high school, and college), and I’ve never seen it. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2020, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-in-the-us-get-leis-at-graduation/923042/3 "2020-10-15T20:53:24Z")
Never saw it in Connecticut. I can imagine this happening on the West Coast, though. ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2020, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-in-the-us-get-leis-at-graduation/923042/4 "2020-10-15T20:53:30Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > Do you have a cite for it being “so synonymous with graduation all over the US”? Because I’ve been to a number of graduations in the Midwest (grade school, high school, and college), and I’ve never seen it. I’ve attended several in California and the East Coast (DC/Maryland), both college and high school, and its been as much part of the garb as mortarboards. Never seen it outside the US (though graduations, particularly for school rather than university) are much more of a thing in the US than elsewhere. ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2020, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-in-the-us-get-leis-at-graduation/923042/5 "2020-10-15T20:53:56Z")
We do? The only time I’ve received a lei is in the airport in Honolulu and when I checked into a hotel in Hawaii. Oh, and at luaus in Hawaii. As for graduations, I’ve never seen this in Illinois, Texas, or New England, except maybe as a one-off for a single student. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2020, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-in-the-us-get-leis-at-graduation/923042/6 "2020-10-15T20:57:55Z")
> [@griffin1977](#): > > I’ve attended several in California and the East Coast (DC/Maryland), both college and high school, and its been as much part of the garb as mortarboards. So, your cite is personal experience. I think, then, that you really should be asking two questions: 1. Are graduation leis as ubiquitous a thing as I think they are? (I suspect that the answer is “no, they aren’t,” but I’d be happy to be proven incorrect) 2. In non-Polynesian areas where they _are_ used, why? ---
**Author:** ![carlb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carlb/32/5930_2.png) [@carlb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carlb)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2020, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-in-the-us-get-leis-at-graduation/923042/7 "2020-10-15T20:59:07Z")
No leis at graduation from high school in Central New Jersey, and no leis at graduation from college in Upstate New York. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2020, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-in-the-us-get-leis-at-graduation/923042/8 "2020-10-15T21:02:54Z")
Agreed about the New Jersey part. This thread is the first time I’ve heard of it happening at all. ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2020, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-in-the-us-get-leis-at-graduation/923042/9 "2020-10-15T21:04:32Z")
Well “Graduation Leis” are listed on the Party City “party essentials” site: > **[Graduation Photo Booth Props: Backdrops, Attire & More](https://www.partycity.com/graduation-photo-booth)** > > Shop Party City’s unique collections of graduation party photo booth props at affordable prices! Find colorful pics that lives in your memory for a long time. So its clear they are synonymous to some degree. But it never occurred to me it wasn’t completely universal in the US (as I’ve attended a pretty wide sample of different types on graduation in different bits of the US, albeit geographically centered on the SF Bay Area and DC). Those who have never seen them, how recent are we talking about? Most of my mine have been friends college/grad-school graduation or their kids high school graduations, in the last 5-10 years. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2020, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-in-the-us-get-leis-at-graduation/923042/10 "2020-10-15T21:06:59Z")
> [@griffin1977](#): > > Those how have never seen them, how recent are we talking about? Most of my mine have been friends college/grad-school graduation or their kids high school graduations, in the last 5-10 years. Graduations from junior high and high school, in the past 3 years. College graduations a few years ago longer than that. ---
**Author:** ![ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chockfullofheadygoodness/32/511_2.png) [@ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2020, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-in-the-us-get-leis-at-graduation/923042/11 "2020-10-15T21:10:25Z")
It seems to be a relatively recent development here in Southern California. Never happened when I was in high school/college in the 80s. The first time I saw it outside of Hawaii was at my son’s middle school graduation in 2014. According to the census, my community is about 30% Asian, so I figured that had something to do with it. But if Party City is pushing them, it could be spreading. Remember, 15 years ago no one had ever heard of a goddamn gender reveal party. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2020, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-in-the-us-get-leis-at-graduation/923042/12 "2020-10-15T21:17:01Z")
I’ve spent a few minutes doing Google image searches for the 2019\* graduation ceremonies at my high school alma mater (in Green Bay, WI), at several high schools in suburban Chicago, at the high school in Alabama where many of my clients have kids, and at my college alma mater (University of Wisconsin-Madison). I found a mix of pictures both during ceremonies, and more “candid” shots from afterwards. I found exactly one lei, in one of dozens of pictures I found of UW commencement ceremonies: [https://creativewriting.wisc.edu/images/2019MFAgrads529x189.jpg](https://creativewriting.wisc.edu/images/2019MFAgrads529x189.jpg) \*I looked at 2019, because 2020 graduations were, of course, atypical. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2020, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-in-the-us-get-leis-at-graduation/923042/13 "2020-10-15T21:23:57Z")
> [@griffin1977](#): > > Well “Graduation Leis” are listed on the Party City “party essentials” site: Why am I not surprised that a company that wants to sell you stuff thinks some stuff is essential? ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2020, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-in-the-us-get-leis-at-graduation/923042/14 "2020-10-15T21:31:20Z")
When I do a Google image search for “graduation lei”, the hits fall into three camps: - Pictures from companies that want to sell me a lei - Pictures from Hawaiian graduation ceremonies, or for Hawaiian kids graduating from colleges on the mainland - Pictures from Southern California graduations This, and the rest of the thread, suggests to me that, outside of Hawaii, it seems to be more widespread in California than elsewhere. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2020, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-in-the-us-get-leis-at-graduation/923042/15 "2020-10-15T21:36:22Z")
I’ve never seen it, either in the Midwest or on the East Coast, either in high school, college, or graduate school. It’s not synonymous with graduation in the United States ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2020, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-in-the-us-get-leis-at-graduation/923042/16 "2020-10-15T21:41:57Z")
> [@griffin1977](#): > > how did the Hawaiian traditional gift of a garland of flowers become so synonymous with graduation all over the US? You are mistaken. This is not a thing with graduations all over the US. In fact, I’ve lived in 5 different states in my lifetime and have **never** seen leis associated with graduation. ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2020, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-in-the-us-get-leis-at-graduation/923042/17 "2020-10-15T21:48:58Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Why am I not surprised that a company that wants to sell you stuff thinks some stuff is essential? Yeah it seems this is the likely answer to the OP. Leis are (or will become) synonymous with graduation because people who sell you tat want to sell you more tat. ---
**Author:** ![zimaane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a3d4f5/32.png) [@zimaane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zimaane)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2020, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-in-the-us-get-leis-at-graduation/923042/18 "2020-10-15T21:57:03Z")
At my midwestern University one of my friends was from Hawaii and he wore one, and gave some out for others to wear. There were quite nice. Other than that I’ve never seen it or heard of it. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2020, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-in-the-us-get-leis-at-graduation/923042/19 "2020-10-15T22:02:42Z")
I graduated from high school in 1975 and I never got a lei. This was 45 years ago, though. ---
**Author:** ![GMANCANADA](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gmancanada/32/2837_2.png) [@GMANCANADA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GMANCANADA)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2020, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-in-the-us-get-leis-at-graduation/923042/20 "2020-10-15T22:39:09Z")
As I was reading the above comments I was wondering the exact same thing as @griffin1977: Specifically the order of the causality: Does Party City push leis as an essential gift because people want them, or do people want them because Party City is pushing them as an essential gift? I’d suspect the latter. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-in-the-us-get-leis-at-graduation/923042.md?page=2)