The Veiled Prophet Ball is a debutante ball held each December in St. Louis, Missouri, by the Veiled Prophet Organization, founded by prominent St. Louisans in 1878.
Each year, one member of the Veiled Prophet Organization is chosen to serve as the “Veiled Prophet of Khorassan,” to preside over the Veiled Prophets Ball and its roughly 2,000 attendees.[1] The event’s focus is on the 50-plus debutantes who are walked down the aisle by notable St. Louis businessmen, usually a friend of their father’s, to bow before the Veiled Prophet. Five are chosen by the Veiled Prophet to be the Special Maids of Honor of the “Veiled Prophet’s Court of Honor”, and one is crowned the “Queen of Love and Beauty”. [2]
Wierd is the word. But makosa ni ya reporter. From the background given, you can’t tell who the original Veiled Prophet was, what he did, the value of perpetuating the ball, and why and how it got its strange name. Such a long social tradition must have some solid basis, I guess. (By the way I almost read veiled treeholder:D)