SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — As we enter yet another season of school graduations, we take a look back at ceremonies in Utah and how traditions have changed over the years.

While ceremonies are now hosted in grand arenas that fit thousands of students and their families, graduations during the early 1900s looked much different, with everyone often packed into humble school gyms and auditoriums.

The conventional graduation caps — now a staple at every commencement — had originated as long hoods throughout the 1700s and into the 1800s. By the 18th century, caps and gowns became standard attire for graduation ceremonies, except for West High School in 1929, when students bypassed tradition by refusing to wear the uniform.

That same year, graduates could “look the part” for less, with local newspapers advertising suits for $20 and classy dresses for as low as $6.

Graduates marching to the podium, now serenaded by the iconic “Pom and Circumstance” tune, would have had a quiet initiation before the early 20th century, when the composition was first performed at the coronation of King Edward VII in Great Britain, and would find its way to the U.S. several years later.

Today, graduates from around the state and beyond will be making their way to the stage — receiving their diplomas and celebrating their years of hard work in the classroom.

According to the late M. Donald Thomas, former superintendent for Salt Lake City schools from 1973 to 1984: “There’s a real feeling that they have accomplished something. They have met a goal, and they have finished the work that was necessary to achieve that goal…”