Hippie FAQs / Important information about Hippies

'Hippies'~Frequently Asked Questions
PART I

And Totally Cool Psychedelic Information

Definition's of a Hippie
by Erowid
Nov 25, 2003

The term hippie (or hippy) derives from "hip" or "hipster"
used during the late 50s and 60s to describe someone who was a part of the Beat scene.
Someone who was hip to the scene, or in the know.

One of the first recorded uses of the term hippie was in a Sept 5 1965 article
about the San Francisco counter-culture by writer Michael Fallon.
The term was not generally used by those who were a part of the hippie culture,
but rather by those on the outside writing about them.

The term became popular with the media in the mid- to late-1960's
as young people flocked to San Francisco (and all over the world-LH),
but also picked up negative conotations for many Americans ("straights"),
You know, thanks to Susan, Tex, Patricia, Squeaky-Charlie Manson's kids!!-LH

Flower Child
(1967)
A hippie who advocates love, beauty, and peace

Hippie or Hippy

[ websters unabridged ] a person, esp. of the late 1960s,
who rejected established institutions and values and sought spontaneity,
direct personal relations expressing love, and expanded consciousness,
often expressed externally in the wearing of casual, folksy clothing and of beads,
headbands, sandals, used garments, etc.

[ websters ] a person who rejects the mores of established society
(as by dressing unconventionally or favoring communal living
and advocates a nonviolent ethic;
broadly : a long-haired unconventionally dressed young person.

[ websters world ] a person who, in a state of alienation from conventional society,
turned variously to mysticism, psychedelic drugs, communal living, etc.

[ hyperdictionary ] someone who rejects the established culture;
advocates extreme liberalism in politics and lifestyle

[ wordreference.com ] a person whose behaviour, dress, use of drugs, etc.,
implied a rejection of conventional values (esp. during the 1960s)

[ realdictionary.com ] youth subculture (mostly from the middle class) originating in San Francisco in the 1960s;
advocated universal love and peace and communes and long hair and soft drugs;
also favored acid rock and progressive rock music

[ miscellaneous ] a person who believes in peace, love, freedom and happiness.

Hipster
[ websters unabridged ] a person who is hip. a person, esp. during the 1950s,
characterized by a particularly strong sense of alienation from most established activities and relationships.

The Hippie Culture
(Subculture or Counterculture)

The hippie subculture was originally a youth movement
that began in the United States during the early 1960s
and spread around the world.
The word hippie derives from hipster,
and was initially used to describe beatniks who had moved
into San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury district.

These people inherited the countercultural values of the Beat Generation,
created their own communities, listened to psychedelic rock,
embraced the sexual revolution, and used drugs such as cannabis and LSD
to explore alternative states of consciousness.

In January 1967, the Human Be-In in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco
popularized hippie culture, leading to the legendary Summer of Love
on the West Coast of the United States,
and the 1969 Woodstock Festival on the East Coast.
http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Alley/6115/avandaro2.htm
In Mexico, the jipitecas formed La Onda Chicana
and 200,000 gathered at Avándaro (Festival Rock y Ruedas de Avándaro),
while in New Zealand, nomadic housetruckers practiced alternative lifestyles
and promoted sustainable energy at Nambassa.

In the United Kingdom, mobile "peace convoys" of New age travellers
made summer pilgrimages to free music festivals at Stonehenge.
Britain's pay & free music festivals and other outdoor
Festivals and Events from 1970 to 1979
including a number of European events.

In Australia hippies gathered at Nimbin for the 1973 Aquarius Festival
and the annual Cannabis Law Reform Rally or MardiGrass.

In Chile, "Festival Piedra Roja" was held in 1970
(following Woodstock's success), and was the major hippie event in that country.

Hippie fashions and values had a major effect on culture,
influencing popular music, television, film, literature, and the arts.
Since the 1960s, many aspects of hippie culture
have been assimilated (RESISTANCE IS FUTILE!!-LH) by mainstream society.
The religious and cultural diversity espoused by the hippies
has gained widespread acceptance,
and Eastern philosophy and spiritual concepts
have reached a wide audience.

The hippie legacy can be observed in contemporary culture in myriad forms —
from health food, to music festivals, to contemporary sexual mores,
and even to the cyberspace revolution.