Spring_break

For an article concerning the euphemism for Easter break, see Spring Holiday.

Spring break at Panama City Beach, Florida, Florida

Spring break, also more commonly known as March break in some parts of Canada, is a week-long recess from studying in early spring at universities and schools in the United States, Canada, Japan, Taiwan, Korea, China, and other countries.

Time of the year

In the United States, spring break may range from the end of February to later days in April, but many schools are out for at least one of the weeks in March. Some schools call this "March break" when it is a middle week in March. Many K–12 institutions in the United States coincide their spring break with Easter and Passover.

In Canada, the March Break for students in elementary school and secondary schools is usually the first week of March, so there is no school that special week. Nova Scotia has their March Break the second week of March.

In Canadian universities, it is known as reading week, or, "Slack week" and is in late February or early March.

In Japan, the spring break starts with the end of the academic year in March and ends on April 1 with the beginning of a new academic year.

History

From the end of World War II until the 1980s, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, was a notorious spring break destination in the United States. On March 19, 2006, the New York Times reported that Fort Lauderdale\'s reputation as a spring break destination for college students started when the Colgate University men\'s swimming team went to practice there over break in 1935.The Innocent Birth of the Spring Bacchanal - New York Times Fort Lauderdale became even more popular due to the 1960 film Where the Boys Are, in which college girls met boys while on spring break there.

Common practices

Spring break\'s notorieties include increased drinking and sexuality. Residents of the Fort Lauderdale area became so upset at the damage done by vacationers, that the local government passed laws restricting parties in 1985. By 1989, the number of college vacationers fell to 20,000, a far cry from the 350,000 who went to Fort Lauderdale four years prior.Fort Lauderdale Travel Guide | Fodor\'s Online

Spring break party goers responded by moving to the more liberal community of Daytona Beach area (over 200,000 students traveled there each spring at its peak), but after Daytona\'s local government undertook similar measures, the crowds of the mid-1990s and early 2000s had fallen to a point where "a few students still come, but officials don\'t even estimate their numbers." Fort Lauderdale suffered a recession as a result of this, but the local hotel industry survived by catering to the retirement population. Panama City Beach, Florida remains a popular spring break destination due to its relatively close proximity to many Southern colleges and driving distances.

Popular destinations outside the United States include Cancun, Acapulco, Mazatlan, Jamaica, and the Bahamas. Tour agencies have not only cited the lower drinking ages in these places, but also the fact that the drinking ages are poorly enforced.

See also

• Schoolies Week

References

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