Love beads are one of the traditional accessories of

hippie A hippie, also spelled hippy, especially in British English, is someone associated with the counterculture of the 1960s, originally a youth movement that began in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to different countries around ...

s. They consist of one or more long strings of

bead A bead is a small, decorative object that is formed in a variety of shapes and sizes of a material such as stone, bone, shell, glass, plastic, wood, or pearl and with a small hole for threading or stringing. Beads range in size from under ...

s, frequently handmade, worn around the neck by both sexes. The love bead

trend A fad or trend is any form of collective behavior that develops within a culture, a generation or social group in which a group of people enthusiastically follow an impulse for a short period. Fads are objects or behaviors that achieve shor ...

probably evolved from the hippie fascination with non-Western

culture Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups ...

s, such as those of Africa,

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

, and

Native America The Indigenous peoples of the Americas are the inhabitants of the Americas before the arrival of the European settlers in the 15th century, and the ethnic groups who now identify themselves with those peoples. Many Indigenous peoples of the Am ...

, which make common use of similar beads.

Quotes

"At moments of suburban relaxation, in our circle of semi-

bohemian Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to: *Anything of or relating to Bohemia Beer * National Bohemian, a brand brewed by Pabst * Bohemian, a brand of beer brewed by Molson Coors Culture and arts * Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, origin ...

homes, we smoked pot, wore dashikis and love beads, and frugged ourselves into a lather…" —

John Updike John Hoyer Updike (March 18, 1932 – January 27, 2009) was an American novelist, poet, short-story writer, art critic, and literary critic. One of only four writers to win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction more than once (the others being Booth Tar ...

"Love beads,

mood ring A mood ring is a finger ring that contains a thermochromic element, or "mood stone", that changes colors based on the temperature of the finger of the wearer. Finger temperature, as long as the ambient temperature is relatively constant, is si ...

s, and candle light.

Zodiac The zodiac is a belt-shaped region of the sky that extends approximately 8° north or south (as measured in celestial latitude) of the ecliptic, the apparent path of the Sun across the celestial sphere over the course of the year. The pa ...

says the time is right ...",

Janet Jackson Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and dancer. She is noted for her innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows. Her sound and choreog ...

, "70s Love Groove"

In popular culture

In music

Chet Atkins Chester Burton Atkins (June 20, 1924 – June 30, 2001), known as "Mr. Guitar" and "The Country Gentleman", was an American musician who, along with Owen Bradley and Bob Ferguson, helped create the Nashville sound, the country music ...

released a single titled "Love Beads" in 1970. * The Lemon Pipers released a song called "Love Beads and Meditation" in 1968.

In products

* According to th
official history
of the original 1962

Pier 1 Imports Pier 1 Imports, Inc. is an online retailer and former Fort Worth, Texas-based retail chain specializing in imported home furnishings and decor, particularly furniture, table-top items, decorative accessories, and seasonal decor. It was publicl ...

store in San Mateo, California, "Our first customers were post-World War II baby boomers looking for beanbag chairs, love beads and incense."Pier I Website

In television

* In the "

Bendin' in the Wind "Bendin' in the Wind" is the thirteenth episode in season three of the animated television series '' Futurama''. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on April 22, 2001. It guest-stars Beck as himself. Bender becomes a folks ...

" (2001) episode of the animated series ''

Futurama ''Futurama'' is an American animated science fiction sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series follows the adventures of the professional slacker Philip J. Fry, who is cryogenically preserved for 1000 years ...

'', Fry, Leela, Amy and Dr. Zoidberg follow Beck's musical tour in a

Volkswagen microbus The Volkswagen Type 2, known officially (depending on body type) as the Transporter, Kombi or Microbus, or, informally, as the Bus (US), Camper (UK) or Bulli (Germany), is a forward control light commercial vehicle introduced in 1950 by the Ge ...

and soon run out of money during their cross country road trip. After inadvertently discovering Dr. Zoidberg naturally produces multicolored pearls as a byproduct of being ill and coughing, the crew fund the rest of their travels by stringing the pearls together and selling them as love beads to highly demanding music festival goers. * In an episode of ''

The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show ''The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show'' (known as You're on Nickelodeon, Charlie Brown during reruns on Nickelodeon) is an American animated television series featuring characters and storylines from the Charles M. Schulz comic strip ''Peanuts'' a ...

'' titled "Beads" (1983), Lucy makes love beads for Schroeder. * In the ''Mad Men'' season 6 episode "A Tale of Two Cities", Danny Siegel and other characters whom

Don Don, don or DON and variants may refer to: Places *County Donegal, Ireland, Chapman code DON *Don (river), a river in European Russia *Don River (disambiguation), several other rivers with the name *Don, Benin, a town in Benin *Don, Dang, a vill ...

Roger Roger is a given name, usually masculine, and a surname. The given name is derived from the Old French personal names ' and '. These names are of Germanic origin, derived from the elements ', ''χrōþi'' ("fame", "renown", "honour") and ', ' ( ...

, and Harry encounter at the Los Angeles parties they attend are wearing love beads. * In ''Bewitched'', season 5, episode 6, "Mirror, Mirror on the Wall" (Nov. 7, 1968), Endora puts a vanity spell on Darrin. He buys a beaded necklace on his way to work, where a conservative advertising client asks what he's wearing. Darrin replies, “Love beads. They go all the way back to ancient Egypt. The high priest used to wear them.” Later, on his way to a luncheon meeting with the client, Samantha zaps the beads off Darrin, with the words "Come flower power, rip off his beads!"

In print

In Peanuts newspaper comic, Lucy makes love beads for Schroeder who states he does not like Lucy causing her to react violently, snatching the beads back and giving them ultimately to Snoopy who appears in the last panel wearing them. Originally appearing in 1968, it was seen in syndicated reprint on September 13, 2015.

Notes

External links

Today's hipsters borrow a symbol from the Peace-Love-Happiness generation and give it a '90s spin
''Chicago Tribune'', May 1992
How to Make Love Beads
, wikiHow
Love Beads for Ang Lee: Hippie Spirit Celebrated at Taking Woodstock Premiere
New York Observer, July 30, 2009

''Providence Journal'', March 1991 * ttp://www.townsend-records.co.uk/product.php?pId=6729741&pType=1 "Love Beads and Meditation"��song/CD by The Lemon Pipers {{hippies 1960s fashion Beadwork Hippie movement Necklaces Peace symbols 1960s fads and trends