in on itself. Many degree ceremonies in British universities include the ritual doffing of caps. Both types require the wearer to wear the appropriate size to fit. In the US, an 'elasticated skull' is mostly used, which eliminates the need to make many mortarboards in different hat sizes. Some mortarboards, especially those in east Asia are laced-up at the back of the skull cap. The correct way to wear a mortarboard is to have the larger part of the skull of the mortarboard at the back of the head with the top board parallel to the ground. A properly fitting mortarboard should not fall off easily. Until the second half of the twentieth century, mortarboards were often worn by schoolteachers, and the hat remains an icon of the teaching profession. Mortarboards are often seen in party supply shops in the United States in May and June, when they appear in the form of party decorations, on commemorative gifts such as teddy bears, and on congratulatory greeting cards. Mourning cap A version of the mortarboard is worn during mourning. Instead of a tassel and button on top of the board, there are two black ribbons that are attached from corner to corner of the board forming a cross. At the centre where the two ribbons intersect a black ribbon rosette is attached. The ribbon for the wide ribbons is grosgrain ribbon whilst the rosette can be made of either the same grosgrain or satin. This mourning cap can be worn when mourning a personal friend or a family relative. Another version has nine ribbon bows called "butterflies" attached to the back of the skull cap (three running vertically down the back seam, two vertically on either side further towards the sides and one on either side at the sides of the skull) in addition to the above. This cap is worn during the mourning of the monarch, a member of the royal family or the university chancellor. The mourning cap is worn with mourning bands (normal bands but with a pleat running down each band) and a mourning gown which is either a Cambridge DD undress gown with "pudding-sleeves" but in black stuff rather than silk as worn in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries or a plain black stuff gown. Hoods are not worn, as they are considered festal items. However, Cambridge proctors in the past wore their MA hoods squared,