Friends all over the world trade bracelets. When did this start?
What can be decorated with special messages, sparkle, or glow in the dark? Friendship bracelets! These colorful bracelets can put a big smile on the face of your best friend, or bestie. But where did they come from?
CHIP CLARK/SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION (SHELL JEWELRY); PENTA SPRINGS LIMITED/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO (HAIR BRACELET); CAVAN IMAGES/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO (STRING BRACELETS); ROSLAN RAHMAN/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES (BEAD BRACELETS)
142,000 Years Ago - Shell Jewelry
200 Years Ago - Hair Bracelets
50 Years Ago - String Bracelets
Today - Bead Bracelets
From Shells to String
Beaded bracelets might seem like a modern trend. But scientists have found beads from 142,000 years ago. Back then, beads looked different. They were made out of shells! Ancient humans strung them together to make special jewelry.
As time passed, people began giving jewelry as gifts. Trading jewelry continued over the years.
Then, about 200 years ago, people started making friendship bracelets. People were traveling to faraway places. There were no phones to text, video chat, or send pictures. Instead, friends made bracelets to remember each other. Often these were made with their friends’ hair!
In the 1970s, exchanging friendship bracelets was simply what best friends did. Kids wove colorful bracelets out of yarn or string.
Even More Popular
KEVIN MAZUR/TAS24/GETTY IMAGES FOR TAS RIGHTS MANAGEMENT
Taylor Swift performing at the Eras Tour!
Last year, friendship bracelets became even more popular. Why? Taylor Swift! A line in one of Taylor’s songs says “Make the friendship bracelets.” At her Eras Tour concerts, fans took Taylor’s advice by making and trading beaded friendship bracelets.
So next time you make a new friend, want to show a pal you care about them, or would like to put a smile on someone’s face, give them a friendship bracelet. After all, it’s what friends have been doing for thousands of years!
Paragraph Power
Write a short paragraph summarizing the history of friendship bracelets.
Can't Miss Teaching Extras
Continue reading about besties and friendship in our Fiction stories “The Parade That Changed Everything,” “The Stars Below Me,” and “The Name Jar.”
After reading this story, students might feel inspired to make new friends. Luckily, our Infographic “How to Make a New Friend” can help!
Meet a group of besties in “Friends Forever,” a story about three girls who do everything together—even shave their heads when one of them loses her hair from an illness.
