School holidays

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

As school holidays , a longer period is referred to in which at a school no teaching takes place. These holidays (from the Latin feriae "festive days") should be used by the students nowadays mainly for rest and relaxation. The vacation periods are spread over the school year . The school holidays are mostly named after the seasons or seasonal events.

View of the teachers

For teachers , the school holidays are not regarded as vacation , but as non- teaching time in which further training courses, meetings and conferences are to take place. In addition, large parts of the vacation are often used to prepare lessons for the time that follows. Like all other employees and civil servants, teachers are entitled to vacation leave, which, however, must be taken during the school holidays.

history

In ancient Rome there were school holidays ( Feriae scholarum ) during Saturnalia and Quinquatrien, as well as on the occasion of public festivities. In addition, four months from the Ides of Junius to the Ides of October were considered a vacation in rural schools .

Germany

Originally, school holidays were essentially identical to church holidays . In addition, there were individual days or weeks when public life was interrupted anyway ( fairs , fairs , etc.), as well as the hot season ( dog day holidays , so-called feriae caniculares ). However, mostly only the afternoons or individual days of the week (Monday and Thursday) were free from school. It was only in the course of the abolition of many church festivals, the advent of vacation trips and out of consideration for the health of the students, that school holidays began to be extended and to merge in certain seasons.

At the beginning of the 19th century z. B. in the province of Brandenburg the school holidays in the city schools are regulated as follows:

  1. Christmas : December 24th to January 1st
  2. Easter : Maundy Thursday to the Sunday following Easter Monday
  3. Pentecost : Whit Saturday to Sunday following Whit Monday
  4. Harvest time : two weeks
  5. Michaelis : a week
  6. on the occasion of markets (only if market holidays were already common at a school): one Krammarkt day each time

This is a little over six weeks a year. So that the pupils could help with the grain , potato and tobacco harvest , there was a different rule at rural schools: In addition to the dates mentioned under 1. to 3., there were also a maximum of six weeks of summer vacation (depending on the harvest volume, less), i.e. a total of six weeks a maximum of nine weeks vacation per year.

School holidays in Germany, Austria and Switzerland

The regulations regarding school holidays in Germany, Austria and Switzerland as well as in Liechtenstein are relatively similar. In contrast to the situation in other countries , the usual school holidays in these countries are almost identical. The committees regulating school holidays are also comparable.

Establishing the dates and their duration

The responsibility for determining the vacation dates and thus also the vacation dates themselves vary from state to state. For the current vacation dates, reference is therefore made to the publications of the official bodies listed on the web links .

In Germany, due to the “ Hamburg Agreement ” of October 28, 1964, school holidays include a total of 75 working days (12 of which are Saturdays). The individual federal states either determine the holiday times themselves permanently or vary them from year to year in consultation with other countries for reasons of traffic and holiday technology. The vacation dates are coordinated by the Conference of Ministers of Education . In the municipalities of Hirschhorn and Neckarsteinach in the south of Hesse , the Baden-Württemberg vacation dates apply due to the course of the state border. Special regulations apply on the German islands of Sylt , Föhr , Amrum , Helgoland and the Halligen as well as on all East Frisian islands . On the island of Borkum, for example, the summer holidays are shortened to 4 weeks, to compensate for this, the autumn holidays are extended to 4 weeks; This regulation is intended to relieve parents who work in tourism (hotels, restaurants), especially in the high season.

In Austria, the vacation dates are set by the Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research .

In Switzerland, the vacation dates are set by the conference of cantonal educational directors .

In Liechtenstein , the vacation dates are set in the official vacation calendar published by the Liechtenstein Education Authority. It is based on the Swiss vacation dates.

Types of school holidays

In Germany, Austria and Switzerland, important vacation dates vary depending on the federal state or canton in order to equalize travel . In Switzerland there can be different vacation times within individual cantons, while in Austria mostly several federal states have largely the same vacation times, so that within Austria there are usually only two or three different vacation times.

This section is intended to provide an overview of the meaning of the various school holidays. They are listed according to their chronological order in the school year . The titles used in the official national publications are used.

Autumn break

The autumn holidays are in the autumn months .

In Germany and Switzerland, the autumn break is the first break after lessons have been resumed in a new school year.

In Germany, depending on the federal state, it is a one or two week vacation in October or November. The autumn holidays emerged from the so-called potato holidays (or in Bavaria from the days off on All Saints' Day / All Souls ' Day ) - at that time the farmer's children were exempted from compulsory schooling to help with the potato harvest on their parents' farm .

In Switzerland, they take one to three weeks, depending on the canton.

In Austria there have been uniform autumn holidays nationwide since 2020. These autumn holidays are between the national holiday on October 26th and All Saints 'Day and All Souls' Day. In order to create these autumn holidays and not lose more teaching time, Easter Tuesday and Pentecost Tuesday are no school-free days. In addition, a few of the school-autonomous days off are omitted (depending on the public holidays).

Christmas holidays

The Christmas holidays start at the end of the calendar year and last until the beginning of the following year.

In Germany, Austria and Switzerland they usually cover the days from December 24th ( Christmas Eve ) to around January 6th ( Holy Three Kings ). In some German federal states and Swiss cantons, the Christmas holidays only last until the turn of the year.

Winter / sports / certificate / semester / carnival holidays

These holidays are at the beginning of the calendar year.

In Germany, winter holidays have been common in most federal states since reunification, as they were in the GDR . Their duration is between a few days and two weeks with an emphasis on one week. Another common name for these holidays is Mardi Gras / Shrovetide Holidays , if they begin on Rose Monday; in Bavaria they are officially dubbed the spring break .

In some federal states, the winter holidays are called certificate holidays because there the half-year certificates are issued at the primary and secondary schools on the last day before these holidays.

In Switzerland, the sports holidays last one to two weeks and, depending on the canton, are between the end of January and the beginning of March.

In Austria these school holidays are called semester breaks and do not apply to students at universities. They last a week and take place during February. They mark half of the school year (see semester ). The university's semester break is also in February, but it lasts longer (up to four weeks). The dates are staggered in three groups of federal states. The semester break was introduced in Austria in 1973 during the first oil crisis under the name of energy holidays . The basic idea was to save heating oil through a week of minimally heated school buildings during the coldest season. In the meantime, these holidays are often used for a vacation in the winter sports areas and thus serve to promote the local tourism industry. They were subsequently retained and renamed during the semester break.

Easter / spring / spring break

In Germany, the Easter / spring holidays usually last one to three weeks, depending on the federal state, and usually include Holy Week and Easter . In the state of North Rhine-Westphalia , for example, they have been reduced to two weeks in favor of the autumn vacation. In Hamburg they take place independently of Easter as a ski holiday in March.

In Switzerland, the spring break is set independently of Easter. They usually last two weeks and are between the beginning of April and the beginning of May, depending on the canton.

In Austria, the Easter holidays last a little more than a week, they usually include the Holy Week until the Monday after Easter.

Pentecost holidays

The Pentecost holidays are based on Pentecost and Ascension Day .

In Germany only a few federal states have extended one to two week Whitsun holidays. In the other federal states there are only a few days off school in addition to the public holidays , in some federal states there are no Whitsun holidays. This depends on whether the summer vacation starts early or late in the respective state. In federal states in which these start as early as mid-June, Whitsun holidays seem less sensible, as the period between them and the summer holidays would be too short.

Whitsun holidays are unknown in Switzerland, only Whit Monday is no school in most cantons.

In Austria, the long weekend around Whitsun is referred to as the Whitsun holiday. The four days from the Saturday before Pentecost up to and including the Tuesday after Pentecost are free of school. This regulation applies to all federal states that have not stipulated an autumn break.

summer holidays

Country groups
Schleswig-Holstein
Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania
Hamburg
Brandenburg
Berlin
Thuringia
Saxony-Anhalt
Saxony
Lower Saxony
Bremen
North Rhine-Westphalia
Saarland
Rhineland-Palatinate
Hesse
Bavaria
Baden-Württemberg

The summer holidays (also colloquially: big holidays ) form the largest part of the non-teaching time for students and teachers in most countries and are at the end of the school year . Its origin can be found in the dog day vacation .

In Germany, the summer holidays at general education schools last between six and seven weeks and are divided into five groups, each from several federal states, in order to equalize travel. The earliest holidays begin in mid-June, the latest end in mid-September. The dates are assigned to the country groups according to a rolling system.

In Austria, the summer school holidays last nine weeks from the beginning of July to the beginning of September and are divided into two groups of federal states. In Vienna, Lower Austria and Burgenland they start in the first week of July, in the other federal states around a week later. The staggering was introduced in 1974.

In Switzerland, the length of the summer vacation varies depending on the canton. In a majority of the German-speaking cantons, including the large ones, they last five to six weeks, in French-speaking Switzerland a little longer. In Ticino they last eleven weeks. In eleven cantons, the summer vacation begins on a Saturday, known as Bundle Day .

Other holidays

In addition to these usual school holidays, which exist in the same form in most regions, there may be additional holiday periods.

In Germany, various federal states have the concept of flexible vacation days that the individual schools can freely schedule. In some federal states (e.g. Bavaria) this concept was abolished again due to the problems associated with it, especially for parents with children in different schools.

In Austria there is the concept of autonomous school days at the federal level . These can be used uniformly at the level of the federal states, for individual types of school, individual schools, individual school levels or individual classes of a school level. For 2016/2017 the following applies: 2 autonomous days are allocated by the state, 2 more by the respective school.

School holidays in other countries

In other countries, a wide variety of school vacation systems are used.

Luxembourg

In Luxembourg there is one week of All Saints' Holidays (autumn holidays), which start at the end of October and end at the beginning / middle of November. The two-week Christmas vacation begins in mid / late December and ends in early January. The carnival holidays are in February and last a week. The two-week Easter holidays start depending on when Easter is, i.e. mid-March to the end of April. The one week Whitsun vacation begins depending on when Pentecost is, i.e. mid-May to mid-June. The summer holidays start in mid-July and end in mid-September.

United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom , vacation dates in Scotland , Wales and Northern Ireland are uniformly set by the respective regional government. The British government in London is responsible for England . The school year is divided into trimesters of different lengths in all parts of the country , which in turn are each divided by a holiday week called half-term . This generally results in a graduation that is very similar to the German one: one week of autumn holidays ( autumn half-term ), two weeks of Christmas holidays, one week in February ( winter half-term ), two weeks of Easter holidays, one week at the end of May ( spring half-term ), six to seven weeks of summer vacation. In Scotland, where the summer holidays are usually earlier than in England or Wales, there are sometimes only a few days at the end of May and more long weekends in September.

United States

In the USA , the dates for the school holidays ( School Vacations , Breaks ) are set by the school districts ( school districts ). The summer break usually begins at the end of May / beginning of June and ends at the end of August / beginning of September. Weekly holidays are also widespread for Thanksgiving (end of November, Thanksgiving Break ), Christmas ( Christmas / Holiday Break ) and Easter (in March / April, Spring Break ), and in some parts of the country also for Labor Day (in September / October , Fall Break ) and in February / March ( Winter Break ).

Netherlands

In the Netherlands there is a good week of autumn holidays, two weeks of Christmas holidays and almost 10 days of spring and May holidays. The summer vacation is six weeks for primary school students and seven weeks for secondary school students. In particular, the autumn and summer holidays differ in their data for the north, central and south of the Netherlands.

Belgium

In Belgium there are summer holidays throughout July and August. There are also one week's holidays around All Saints' Day and Carnival and two weeks around Christmas / New Year and Easter.

France

In France , school holidays are set centrally by the Ministry of Education. There are three zones A, B and C. In all zones there are nine weeks of summer vacation in July and August, as well as two weeks of vacation around Christmas. Two weeks of autumn, ski and spring break (Easter) are differentiated according to zones, around the beginning of November, February and April. When planning, an attempt is made to create a school and vacation rhythm of six to seven weeks of school and two weeks of vacation.

French overseas territories

The school holidays and even the school calendar as a whole can be very different in the French overseas territories. Each head of an Académie is responsible for the school calendar of his Académie. He should set the vacation dates by decree and for a period of three years.

The particularities of the overseas territories are taken into account. For example, in New Caledonia , Wallis and Futuna, the school year lasts from February to December: the longest holidays are in the southern hemisphere in summer.

Italy

In Italy , school holidays are largely uniformly regulated, with deviations of a few days in the individual regions . The summer holidays start in early / mid-June and last until early / mid-September. There are also two-week Christmas holidays and one-week Easter holidays as well as various school-free holidays. In addition, the local school authorities and schools can determine further individual days off themselves.

see also: Ferragosto

Nigeria

In Nigeria , the longest holidays are from mid-July to the second week of September in secondary schools. In universities, these holidays are shorter in the same period. Each school determines the vacation days independently.

East Timor

Poster of the Ministry of Education of East Timor : "Holidays are over - don't forget - children in school"

In East Timor , the school year runs parallel to the calendar year. School holidays are only between Christmas and New Years. Otherwise school is only free on public holidays .

Russia

In Russia , public school holidays are mandatory. Two weeks of winter break in January. The spring break is one week in April. Another week of autumn break in November. The summer holidays start on May 25th and end on September 1st.

Czech Republic

In the Czech Republic , school holidays are largely uniformly regulated. Letní prázdniny summer holidays cover the entire months of July and August. At the end of October there are two days off from school, around October 28th (the day Czechoslovakia was founded in 1918), creating a long weekend. The Christmas holidays vánoční prázdniny usually go from December 23rd to January 2nd. The first Friday in February is a day off from school ( pololetní prázdniny - half-yearly vacation ). In the following six weeks, each okres (district) has a staggered week of spring break ( jarní prázdniny ). The Easter holidays ( velikonoční prázdniny ) start on Maundy Thursday and last until the following Tuesday. In addition, the school principals have the option of specifying ředitelské volno ( no director-free) for a few days .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Pierer's Universal Lexicon of the Past and Present . 4th edition. Verlagbuchhandlung von HA Pierer , Altenburg 1865 ( zeno.org [accessed on June 5, 2019] Lexicon entry “Holidays” No. 3).
  2. ^ Meyer's Large Conversational Lexicon . 6th edition. Bibliographisches Institut, Leipzig / Vienna 1909 ( zeno.org [accessed on June 5, 2019] lexicon entry “School holidays”).
  3. ↑ Otto Schulz, FL Striez, HW Ule (ed.): Schulblatt für die Provinz Brandenburg . First issue. L. Oehmigke, Berlin 1839, p. 98 f . ( limited preview in Google Book search).
  4. ^ Bavarian State Ministry for Education and Culture: Happy Holidays! - Basics about the holidays. Retrieved December 30, 2010 .
  5. ↑ Press release Ministry of Education and Culture Schleswig-Holstein: Vacation dates for school years 2010/11 to 2016/17 have been set - special regulations for islands and halligen remain in place. In: education click. December 9, 2008, accessed April 23, 2009 .
  6. ↑ RdErl. D. MK: Vacation regulations for the school years 2009/10 to 2016/17. (PDF; 112 kByte) In: Schulverwaltungsblatt 5/2009 - Official part. April 21, 2009, pp. 13-18 , accessed on August 19, 2012 (see Section 8).
  7. ↑ Information on the special regulation
  8. ↑ Silke Fokken: Summer holidays: Why Bavaria is always last - and wants to stay. In: Spiegel Online . November 27, 2019, accessed May 10, 2020 .
  9. ↑ School holidays . In: Meyers Konversations-Lexikon . 4th edition. Volume 14, Verlag des Bibliographisches Institut, Leipzig / Vienna 1885–1892, p. 648.
  10. ↑ Do the countries alternate with the earliest entry into the summer vacation? In: Holiday regulation. Secretariat of the Standing Conference of Education Ministers of the Federal Republic of Germany, accessed on April 23, 2018 .
  11. ↑ Staggered holidays for the first time from June 1974 . In: Arbeiter-Zeitung . Vienna December 12, 1972, p. 01 ( berufer-zeitung.at - the open online archive - digitized). (Announced with three groups.)
  12. ↑ Let children let off steam during the holidays . In: Arbeiter-Zeitung . Vienna June 27, 1974, p. 05 ( berufer-zeitung.at - the open online archive - digitized).
  13. ↑ The most important dates in the school year orf.at, August 29, 2016, accessed August 29, 2016.
  14. ^ Newport City Council: Term dates. Retrieved March 26, 2015 . South Lanarkshire Council: School holidays 2015-2017. Retrieved March 26, 2015 .

Web links

Wiktionary: School holidays  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations
Wikivoyage: School holidays in Germany  - travel guide