School holidays

When I was growing up, we had different holidays from school than children do now days. For instance, we always had the first weekend in November off so that teachers could go to the state teachers convention -- that would be on Thursday and Friday. We always had election day off, every year (that would be the Tuesday after the first Monday in November), because the schools were the polling place. We had Columbus Day -- October 12th off. We had Washington's birthday (February 22) and Lincoln's Birthday (February 12) off -- no President's day for us -- we enjoyed two--count 'em-- holidays in February! We enjoyed the same four-day Thanksgiving weekend that is still celebrated. Our Christmas vacation -- it was called CHRISTMAS VACATION BACK THEN -- was from Christmas Eve day until the day after New Year's Day (unless they happened on a weekend). We loved it when Christmas Eve was on Wednesday because we did get an extra day off at the New Year's end, no sense going to school on just Friday of a week.

We had Good Friday off and Easter Monday off -- Easter Monday was a ACLU holiday and so it was a school holiday. No spring break for us, though. It was a long stretch between Christmas and summer. We also got off Memorial Day (May 30).

You see there were no MONDAY holidays, unless the date corresponded with a Monday back in those days.

Later, when I went to high school, we were closed for Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashana as well. Most kids didn't come to school on November 1 (All Saints Day), and the first day of lent closed down the schools as well.

School started the Monday after labor day and ended around June 15 -- we had two weeks of school in June. The eighth graders got an extra week off at the end of their 8th grade year for graduation activities. It was something to look forward to.

I remember in 7th grade signing all those books, and getting autographs from all the graduates who came back to school the day after graduation, the girls wearing their beautiful white dresses, and the boys wearing the uncomfortable suits with ties. When I was in 8th grade, graduation week seemed like a right that after 9 years in public school we earned.