School holiday

School holidays are the periods during which schools are closed for study. These are in addition to public holidays, which usually last a day, and apply throughout the community. Sometimes schools remain open on some public holidays.

School holiday periods vary considerably both between countries, hemispheres, and even between schools within the same community.

Common school holidays

Christmas holiday

Christmas or, in the northern hemisphere, winter break (sometimes called winter recess) includes both the Christmas and New Year holidays. In the southern hemisphere, Christmas holidays are in summer and the break is sometimes referred to as the summer break. In high schools, in the United States, the winter break generally takes place in February. In some schools, especially colleges, both the Christmas and winter break are "merged" into a month-long holiday.

Easter holiday

Easter holiday is a school holiday that takes place in the northern spring, with the date varying by country and level of schooling. In the United States, this is called "Easter break" or "spring break".

Summer holiday

In the United States, the terms "summer break" and "summer holiday" are often used to refer to the large break from school and university taken during summer (usually August and some time before and after). The summer break takes place for a few months between May and September, depending on what scheduling system a school uses, and whether it is high school or college.

The main summer break varies between the countries of the UK.

In England & Wales (United Kingdom) , the school summer holidays usually begin in July and last through until September, lasting usually 5 to 6 weeks.

In Scotland, school summer holidays start around the end of June and last for about 7 weeks, with most schools returning in the middle of August.

In Ireland, second level school holidays last from the beginning of June until the beginning of September unless a student is doing Junior or Leaving Certificate exams. For Northern Ireland, school summer holidays usually begin near the end of June and continue on until the start of September.

Variations by country

In Australia, the major school holiday is in the southern hemisphere summer, between mid-December and the last day of January. Two weeks is then given in April in autumn, and another two weeks in July in winter. The spring break is for two weeks and takes place in October.

In Austria, the summer holidays are mostly between late June and early September. Autumn break (late October), Easter break and the mid-term break (late February) all last for a week. There are also four free days during Pentecost and various free days during religious holidays (assumption day, ascension day, Corpus Christi etc).

In Canada, summer holidays/break from school is July and August, with students returning to school in the first week of September.

In Czech Republic, summer holidays begin at the end of school year on 30 June and end at the start of the school year in first week of September. Then there are autumn holidays, it is two days plus 28 October (day of creating Czechoslovakia). The winter (Christmas) holidays last usually from 22 December to 2 January. There is also half term one day holiday on 31.1. The spring holidays are a week long and takes range from February to march, depending on region, sometimes they continue with Easter holidays (the green Thursday, great Friday and Easter Monday). There are also free days such as 1 May and 8 May and 28 September. The school director also have right to add up to three more free days during school year. The school holidays are determined by Ministry of Schools for each school year and are valid for every basic and high school.

In Estonia, summer holidays last for three months from June to August. Christmas holidays last for two weeks, autumn and spring holidays both are one week.

In Germany, summer holidays are mostly between July and late August with regional differences. Some regions begin as early as beginning / mid June, some end as late as start of September. They last 6 weeks. Other holidays are around Easter (usually 2 weeks) and Pentecost, in autumn (usually 1 week) as well as mid- to end-December to the beginning of January.

In Japan, school holidays take place from the end of March through the beginning of April, from the end of July until the end of August, and over the New Year period from 24 December to 7 January.

In Norway, school holidays vary by region. For example, recognised bank holidays fall on different days in Østfold and Oslo, the Christmas holiday is a few days longer then in Aust-Agder.

In England & Wales (United Kingdom), there are a number of school holidays. The academic year usually begins during the first week of September, this period up until Christmas is known as Autumn Term. In the last week of October, there is a week off known as half term, which is the halfway point between Summer and Christmas holidays. The Christmas holiday usually begins a few days before 25 December and ends a few days after 1 January. Again, there is a week off half way through the term (Spring Term) and a 2 week break for Easter. After Easter is summer term and the 3rd half term break is the half way point to the summer holidays. Summer itself usually begins towards the end of July for most pupils in years 1-10. Year 11 and 6th form leave at the end of June after exams.

In the USA, secondary schools typically start their classes in August or September and end in May or June, with both spring breaks and Christmas holidays being included. In universities on the quarter system, Christmas holiday directly begins at the end of the autumn quarter, spring break is at the end of winter quarter, and summer break is at the end of spring quarter. It varies from school to school, depending on the scheduling system. Some universities on a trimester also have an autumn break.

Common practices and effects

Summer holidays for most children are a time to relax, enjoy, and cover up on studies. It's also the time when most families go for an outing.

School holidays have many effects on a country, ranging from the price of a vacation, which is increased while children are off school, to an increased crime rate. There can also possibly be a decrease in traffic levels on some school run routes and other commuter roads as people take vacation time from work to spend time with their children.

Countries like Germany, where many commuters use the highway to get to their holiday destinations, separate holidays into regions, decreasing the number of overlapping holiday beginnings and therefore reducing the risk of traffic jams during these high-traffic periods.