What do you know about the “flower children”?

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Hippie. It was not just a youth movement, it was a whole era. Look at the history of current that flourished fifty years ago, and try to understand what it attracted young people and why it has become a real phenomenon.

Where they came from?

The hippie subculture emerged in the US in the 1960-ies. For the first time the word “hippie” was made in one of the American TV shows and belonged to the young people who opposed the war in Vietnam. According to one version, the word “hippie” is rooted in American slang means “to be aware”, “kerf”, the other is a word invented by journalists.

Summer 1967 historians call the “Summer of love“.

Then about a hundred thousand hippies gathered in the area of Haight-Ashbury in San Francisco to celebrate their love and freedom. “Flower children” (as they were called because of the habit to weave in hair flowers and give bouquets to passers-by) have lived in the city’s Golden gate Park. There they distributed free food, and if necessary provide medical help. A landmark event in the history of the hippies was the rock festival “Music, Love and Flowers” in the city of Monterey (California).

By the way, lighting festivals, which have a lot of time passed in the country, the media tried to show the hippy with the worst hand: life on the street, drugs, unkempt appearance, promiscuity, idleness. Because of this, the society has developed a stereotype about hippies as idlers who do not care about anything. In fact, the movement’s representatives actively participated in rallies and demonstrations. In the fall of 1967 in Washington, hippies held a “March on the Pentagon”. In the procession was attended by over 35 thousand people. The building of the Pentagon, demonstrators were stopped by riot police.

The first wave of the hippie movement ended with a rock music festival “Woodstock”, who in August 1969 was attended by about half a million people. This event is called the end of the “hippie era”. The second and third waves of the movement were, respectively, 80-ies and 90-ies.

Freedom is a state of mind

Hippie is not only culture, but also philosophy. Activists believe that to improve the world you need to effect change in human consciousness. Harmony with yourself and others – here called “flower children.” Hippies rejected the Puritan morality and conservatism of the old generation, highly valued freedom, especially the interior, called to protect the nature. Over time formed the main provisions of the philosophy of the hippies:
the

• the
  • man ought to be free;

the

• • to achieve freedom only by changing the internal structure of the soul;

the

• • acts internally unchained person determined by the desire to preserve their freedom as the greatest jewel;

the

• • beauty and freedom are identical, the implementation of the two — a purely spiritual problem;

the

• • spiritual community — the ideal form of a hostel;

the

• all that think differently are wrong.

Journey and meditation

Hippies lived in communes (or municipalities), often in abandoned homes, estates, farms. Settled on the outskirts or in the woods, away from civilization. However, the “flower children” never stayed in one place too long. They loved to travel. Typically the travel was hitch Hiking or minibus.

Hippies were traveling as a group, stayed in roadside hotels and Inns, where you can meet like-minded people. Sometimes representatives of the movement used caravans.

It is believed that the drugs, along with pacifism and free love was part of the hippie culture. It was believed that psychedelic drugs are able to “expand consciousness” and help to explore the world, disconnected from all earthly things. To achieve spiritual enlightenment, the hippies also turned to meditation, religion and art.

Many hippies were vegetarians or vegans, advocated a return to natural human origins.

“khayr” and baubles

Representatives of the movement wore long hair. Sometimes the heads were decorated with dressings and tapes. Beard, men shaved. On hand was made to wear a variety of homemade decorations: baubles, bangles. Clothes the hippies wore loose and comfortable: jeans (usually flared), sweaters, t-shirts, sometimes purposely torn and frayed, embroidered, beaded, colors. Women wore dresses casual with ethnic motifs. Welcome natural fabrics.

Psychedelic rock

At concerts and festivals hippies often sounded psychedelic music (genre of music, which was influenced by Eastern mysticism of traditional Indian music). The sounds of psychedelic rock, were supposed to influence the audience, causing a feeling of detachment and unreality. In addition, hippies were big fans of The Beatles. And the line “All You Need Is Love” along with “Make love, not war” and “Give Peace A Chance” became the slogan of the movement.

The unofficial anthem culture was considered the song “San Francisco (Be Sure To Wear Some Flowers In Your Hair)”. Its author – John Phillips of the Mamas &the Papas.

From Lennon to Grebenshchikov

John Lennon received recognition from representatives of a hippie for singing songs about equality, brotherhood, peace and love. Yoko Ono, his last wife, also belonged to this subculture. One couple gave reporters the so-called “bed interview”: lying in bed, they called for a stop to the war in Vietnam.

Bob Dylan, American musician, writer and actor, can also be called a representative flow. His song “Blowin’ in the Wind” became the anthem of the movement against war and fighting for civil rights.

 

 

Jimi Hendrix, American guitarist, participated in festivals hippie, including “Woodstock”.