Flower child

Flower child originated as a synonym for hippie, especially the idealistic young people who gathered in San Francisco and environs during the 1967 Summer of Love. It was the custom of "flower children" to wear and distribute flowers or floral-themed decorations to symbolize altruistic ideals of universal brotherhood, peace and love. The mass media picked up on the term and used it to refer in a broad sense to any hippie. Flower children were also associated with the flower power political movement, which originated in ideas written by Allen Ginsberg in 1965.

San Francisco

Scott McKenzie's rendition of the song "San Francisco " was released in May 1967. The song was written by John Phillips to promote the June 1967 Monterey Pop Festival, and it urged visitors to San Francisco to "wear some flowers in your hair", in keeping with the festival's billing as "three days of music, love, and flowers":

<blockquote>If you're going to San Francisco,<br/>be sure to wear some flowers in your hair...<br/>If you come to San Francisco,<br/>Summertime will be a love-in there.</blockquote>

"San Francisco" became an instant hit (#4 in the United States, #1 in the U.K.) and quickly transcended its original purpose.

Summer of Love

After the January 14 Human Be-In organized by artist Michael Bowen (among other things, announcements told participants to bring...
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