Spring break: Difference between revisions

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Latest revision as of 09:04, 7 August 2025

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{{Redirect|Mid-term break|the poem by Seamus Heaney|Death of a Naturalist}}

'''Spring break''' or '''Reading Week''' is a week-long recess from studying in early spring at universities in the [[United States]], [[Canada]], [[Japan]], [[Korea]], [[China]] and other countries. It is traditionally a time when students travel to a tropical ___location and party hard for a week. Recently, many students have begun traveling to other countries, such as [[Mexico]] and [[Jamaica]]. Spring break's notorieties include increased [[drinking]] and [[sexuality]], including public [[nudity]].

{{other uses}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2021}}

{{Short description|Recess in early spring at universities and schools}}

[[File:Spring Break hyper masculinity.jpg|thumb|American students enjoying spring break at a party in [[Negril]], [[Jamaica]], 2009]]

In the U.S., spring break ranges from the end of [[February]] to mid-[[April]], but most schools are out the first two weeks of [[March]]. Starting in [[September]], leading spring break companies such as [http://www.tripinvite.com/springbreak Trip Invite] go to college campuses to promote trips for the coming spring break.

'''Spring Break''' is an [[United States|American]] cultural event generally experienced as a one-to-two-week academic vacation period observed by schools and universities across the United States, usually in March or April.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newsweek.com/spring-break-travel-warning-bahamas-jamaica-mexico-fbi-2046821 |title=Map Shows Travel Warnings Issued for Spring Break Destinations |work=Newsweek |date=18 March 2025 |first=Nick |last=Mordowanec}}</ref> While providing a general recess for all students, it has become particularly associated with college students traveling to warm-weather destinations.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Laurie|first1=John|title=Spring break: The Economic, Socio-Cultural and Public Governance Impacts of College Students on Spring break Host Locations|date=2008|isbn=9781109023091|page=17}}</ref> This tradition, largely popularized by mid-20th-century films and media coverage, is known for its focus on large parties and social gatherings. Beyond this popular image, there's a growing trend towards ''Alternative Spring Breaks'', where students opt to dedicate their time off to community service.

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.

According to ''Bustle'', college students in the US have "almost always" had time off in the early spring.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=2015-02-24 |title=A Brief History Of Spring Break, By The Gone-Wild Decade |url=https://www.bustle.com/articles/66030-a-brief-history-of-spring-break-by-the-gone-wild-decade |access-date=2025-04-19 |website=Bustle |language=en}}</ref> The tradition of spring break vacations, however, began with Florida as a vacation destination, and was spread by popular books and films before expanding to more destinations.<ref name=":0" />

Spring break is also celebrated by [[K-12]] institutions, and is also known as '''March break'''. March break is invariably one or both of the middle two weeks of March.

In the mid-1930s, a swimming coach from [[Colgate University]] decided to take his team down to [[Florida]] for some early training at a brand-new Olympic-size pool in sunny Fort Lauderdale.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/travel/article/20240307-why-is-florida-breaking-up-with-spring-break |title=Why is Florida 'breaking up' with spring break? |publisher=BBC Travel |date=8 March 2024 |access-date=28 July 2025}}</ref> The idea clicked with other college swim coaches, and soon the spring training migration became an annual tradition for swimmers nationwide. Now, spring break is an academic tradition in various mostly western countries that is scheduled for different periods depending on the state and sometimes the region.

[[Fort Lauderdale, Florida]] was once a notorious spring break destination in the early-to-mid 80's [[United States]]. Residents of the area became so upset at the damage done by vacationers, however, that the local government passed laws restricting parties in the late- 80s. Spring break partygoers responded by moving to the much more [[liberal]] [[Daytona Beach, Florida|Daytona Beach]] area. Fort Lauderdale suffered a [[recession]] as a result of the self-imposed [[boycott]], but the local hotel industry survived by catering to the retirement population.

In the United States, spring break at universities, colleges, and many [[K–12|K-12]] school systems can take place {{citation needed span|date=September 2024|from March to April,}} depending on term dates and when [[Easter Sunday|Easter holiday]] falls. Spring break is usually a week or two long, although some schools schedule it for mid to late March, with separate days off for the Easter holiday.

The most popular spring break spots today include [[Cancun]], [[Jamaica]], [[Acapulco]], [[South Padre Island]], and [[Panama City Beach]]. About 1,000,000 students go on spring break to these locations ([[USA Today]], [[2003]]-[[01-05]]). Most students purchase specialized packaged tours. There are several logistics companies that charter airplanes and buy large blocks of hotel rooms to offer the deep discounts most college kids need. Prices range from about $600 to $1400 which includes airfare, hotel, and 50 hours of open bar.

==Popular destinations==

Alternative spring break trips are becoming more popular. For the more socially conscious student, package trips are available to help people in poor countries, experience nature, and other activities outside the typical party scene.

===United States===

In the US, many people take the holiday off. The holiday is celebrated near Easter, and many families hold easter egg hunts, or celebrate with Easter activities.

====Panama City Beach, Florida====

Starting in the late 1990s, [[Panama City Beach, Florida|Panama City Beach]] began advertising the destination hoping to attract crowds that had formerly gone to Fort Lauderdale and then Daytona Beach before those communities enacted restrictions. From 2010 to 2016, an estimated 300,000 students traveled to the destination. The spawn of social media and digital marketing helped boost the beach town into a student mecca during March. Following well-publicized shootings and a [[gang rape]] in 2015, several new ordinances were put into effect prohibiting drinking on the beach and establishing a bar closing time of 2{{nbsp}}a.m.{{nbsp}}[[Central Time Zone|CT]]. Reports showed a drop in Panama City Beach's spring break turnout in March 2016,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wjhg.com/home/headlines/Some-local-businesses-say-the-smaller-spring-break-crowds-have-had-a-negative-impact-on-the-local-economy-373795851.html|title=Some businesses see negative economic impact this spring break|first=Kelly|last=Baumgarten|access-date=March 15, 2018}}</ref> followed by increased family tourism in April 2016. Both are attributed to the new ordinances by the [[Bay County, Florida|Bay County]] Community Development Corporation (CDC).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newsherald.com/news/20160626/panama-city-reports-record-bed-tax-numbers-in-april|title=Panama City reports record bed tax numbers in April|first=KATIE|last=LANDECK|access-date=March 15, 2018}}</ref>

====Daytona Beach, Florida====

After Fort Lauderdale started discouraging college students from vacationing there for spring break in the mid-1980s, [[Daytona Beach, Florida|Daytona Beach]] mayor [[Larry Kelly]] appeared on national television to encourage college vacationers to come to Daytona Beach instead.<ref name=":2">{{Cite news|url=https://washingtontimes.com/news/2015/jun/3/florida-spring-break-destinations-tire-of-partyers/|title=Florida spring break destinations tire of partyers' bad behavior, seek revenue elsewhere|last=Quimby|first=Tom|date=June 3, 2015|work=The Washington Times|access-date=2018-05-29|language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite news|url=http://www.sun-sentinel.com/features/fl-spring-broke-documentary-20160304-story.html|title='Spring Broke' documentary on Fort Lauderdale-Daytona rivalry to air Friday|last=Diaz|first=Johnny|work=Sun-Sentinel.com|access-date=2018-05-29|language=en-US}}</ref> Soon after, beer and cigarette brands started advertising in Daytona Beach for spring break. ''[[MTV Spring Break]]'' coverage moved to Daytona Beach in 1986.<ref name=":3" /><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.papermag.com/a-history-of-mtv-spring-break-part-1-the-80s-1426028000.html|title=A History of "MTV Spring Break," Part 1: The '80s|date=2012-03-28|work=PAPER|access-date=2018-06-11|language=en|archive-date=June 12, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612144920/http://www.papermag.com/a-history-of-mtv-spring-break-part-1-the-80s-1426028000.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Kelly later called that decision a mistake, as locals experienced many problems during spring break every year.<ref name=":2" /><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1993-07-12/news/9301230616_1_black-college-reunion-tourism-officials-spring-break-s|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140726215852/http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1993-07-12/news/9301230616_1_black-college-reunion-tourism-officials-spring-break-s|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 26, 2014|title=Daytona Beach May Kiss Spring Breakers Good-bye|work=tribunedigital-sunsentinel|access-date=2018-05-29|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.orlandosentinel.com/1989/06/21/daytona-debates-spring-break/|title=Daytona Debates Spring Break|work=tribunedigital-orlandosentinel|access-date=2018-05-29|language=en}}</ref> Kelly's efforts to rein in the revelry included promoting athletic competitions called "Spring Games" to channel youthful energy in a wholesome direction,<ref name="SpringGames">{{cite news |title=Spring Games USA competes with bacchanalian traditions for minds and bodies of college students |work=Los Angeles Times |date=25 March 1989|id={{ProQuest|1249381954}} }}</ref> and proposing that hotels be billed for the cost of sending police to respond to calls during spring break.<ref name="BreakPatrols">{{cite news |title=Mayor: Bill Hotels for Police Calls Report Says $60,000 Spent for Spring Break Patrols |publisher=Orlando Sentinel |date=1 June 1989|id={{ProQuest|277532149}} }}</ref> In 1993, Kelly lost his bid for re-election as mayor, and Daytona Beach officials cut their spring break marketing budget and ties with MTV.<ref name=":3" /><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.papermag.com/a-history-of-mtv-spring-break-part-2-the-90s-1426029465.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160206020140/http://www.papermag.com/a-history-of-mtv-spring-break-part-2-the-90s-1426029465.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 6, 2016|title=A History of "MTV Spring Break," Part 2: The 90s|date=2012-03-29|work=PAPER|access-date=2018-06-11|language=en}}</ref>

====Fort Lauderdale, Florida====

[[Fort Lauderdale]]'s reputation as a spring break destination for college students started when the [[Colgate University]] men's swim team arrived to practice there over Christmas break in 1934.<ref>{{cite news |last= Marsh |first= Bill |url= https://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/19/weekinreview/19marsh.html |title= The innocent birth of the spring bacchanal |work= [[The New York Times]] |date= March 19, 2006}}</ref> Attracting approximately 20,000 college students in the 1950s, spring break was still known as 'Spring vacation' and was a relatively low key affair. This began to change when [[Glendon Swarthout]]'s novel, ''Where the Boys Are'' was published in 1960, effectively ushering in modern spring break.<ref>{{cite book|last=Laurie|first=John|title=Spring Break: The Economic, Socio-Cultural and Public Governance Effects of College Students on Spring break Host Locations|year=2008|isbn=9781109023091|page=12}}</ref> Swarthout's 1960 novel was quickly made into a movie of the same title later that year, ''[[Where the Boys Are]]'', in which college girls met boys while on spring break there. The number of visiting college students immediately jumped to over 50,000.<ref name="sfhm">{{Cite news |url=http://historymiamiarchives.org/pdfs/sfh-1991-1.pdf |title=Where the boys were |last=George |first=Paul S. |date=1991 |work=South Florida History Magazine |access-date=November 16, 2017 |publisher=Historical Association of Southern Florida |issue=1 |pages=5–8 |via=[[HistoryMiami]] |archive-date=July 2, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190702041609/http://historymiamiarchives.org/pdfs/sfh-1991-1.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> The 1964 film 'Girl Happy' starring Elvis Presley also depicts spring break, mentioning many universities and Fort Lauderdale by name (many times). By the early 1980s, Fort Lauderdale was attracting between 250,000 and 350,000 college students per year during spring break. Residents of the Fort Lauderdale area became so upset at the damage done by college students that the local government passed laws restricting parties in 1985. At the same time, the [[National Minimum Drinking Age Act]] was enacted in the United States, requiring that Florida raise the minimum drinking age from 18 to 21 and inspiring many underage college vacationers to travel to other competing locations in the United States for spring break. By 1989, the number of college students traveling to Fort Lauderdale fell to 20,000, a far cry from the 350,000 who went four years prior.<ref name="sfhm" /><ref>{{cite magazine|last=Bohn|first=Lauren|title=A brief history of spring break|url=http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1888317,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090331062345/http://www.time.com//time//nation//article//0,8599,1888317,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 31, 2009|magazine= [[Time (magazine)|Time]] |access-date=October 3, 2012|date=March 30, 2009}}</ref>

====South Padre Island, Texas====

In the early 1980s, [[South Padre Island]] became the first ___location outside of Florida to draw a large number of college students for spring break. With only a few thousand residents, South Padre Island consistently drew 80,000 to 120,000 spring breakers into the 2000s.<ref>{{cite book|last=Laurie|first=John|title=Spring break: The Economic, Socio-Cultural and Public Governance Impacts of College Students of Spring break Host Locations|year=2008|isbn=9781109023091|page=66}}</ref>

===Caribbean===

* [[Montego Bay]], [[Jamaica]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.springbreak.com/Caribbean/Montego_Bay/Montego_Bay.html|title=Spring Break 2018 in Montego Bay|website=www.springbreak.com|access-date=March 15, 2018}}</ref>

* [[Nassau, Bahamas]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.springbreak.com/Caribbean/Nassau.html|title=Spring Break 2017 in Nassau|website=www.springbreak.com|access-date=March 15, 2018}}</ref>

* [[Punta Cana]], [[Dominican Republic]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ststravel.com/spring-break/dominican-republic/punta-cana/|title=Punta Cana Spring Break 2018 Packages – STS Travel|website=STSTravel.com|access-date=March 15, 2018}}</ref>

===Mexico===

* [[Acapulco]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.springbreak.com/MX_Cities/Acapulco/Acapulco.html|title=Spring Break 2017 in Acapulco, Mexico|website=www.springbreak.com|access-date=March 15, 2018}}</ref>

* [[Cancún]]<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQDc0Kcd8Iw Epic Spring break in Cancun, Mexico], video</ref>

* [[Cabo San Lucas]]

==See also==

* [[Girls Gone Wild (franchise)]]

* [[Schoolies week]]

* [[Senior Week]]

* [[Wet T-shirt contest]]

==References==

{{reflist}}

*[[Anne Warren Smith]]: ''Tails of Spring Break'', ISBN 0-8075-6358-7

*[[Mary-Kate Olsen]], [[Ashley Olsen]], [[Emma Harrison]]: ''So Little Time 14: Spring Breakup'', Haper Entertainment, ISBN 0-06-059069-6

*[[Sundiata Xian Tellem]]: ''Spring Break with [[Melanie Nuntia]]'', Advanced Marketing Techno, ISBN 1-4107-0150-6

*[[Johanna Hurwitz]]: ''Spring Break'', Harper Collins, ISBN 0-380-73257-2

*[[Jonathan Pearce]]: ''Spring Break'', Infinity Pub.Com, ISBN 0-7414-0378-1

*[[John Bianchi]]: ''Spring Break at Pokeweed Public School'', Bungalo Books, ISBN 0-921285-33-7

*[[Peter Lerangis]]: ''Spring Break'', Apple, ISBN 0590697714

*[[Linda Joy Singleton]]: ''Spring Break!'', Lowell House, ISBN 1565651448

*[[William Collister]]: ''Cassadaga: Spring Break'', Writer's Showcase, ISBN 0595216366

*[[R. L. Stine]]: ''Spring Break (Seniors a Fear Street Super Chiller)'', Golden Books, ISBN 0307247139

*[[Ruth Burnett]]: ''Spring Break for Love'', Thomas Bouregy & Co, ISBN 9995177978

*[[Francine Pascal]]: ''Sweet Valley High Super: Spring Break'', Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, ISBN 0553255371

==External links==

* {{commons category-inline}}

{{U.S. Holidays|state=collapsed}}

[[Category:Types of secular holidays]]

*Article "[http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/?020401fa_FACT Endless Spring - How much spring break can anyone stand?]" by [[Rebecca Mead]]

[[Category:TourismSpring by nation(season)]]

*Article "[http://msnbc.msn.com/id/7030726/ How to survive spring break - Avoid a vacation disaster with common sense and planning]" by [[John Frenaye]]

[[Category:TourismStudent culture]]

*Article "[http://www.cnn.com/2005/TRAVEL/DESTINATIONS/03/15/acapulco.spring.break.ap/index.html Acapulco the mature spring break destination]"

[[Category:Types of tourism]]

*Article "[http://edition.cnn.com/2005/TRAVEL/DESTINATIONS/03/14/trv.travel.southpadre.ap/index.html Texas shores hot for spring break]"

*[http://daytonabreak.com/ Official Spring Break Site for Daytona Beach]

*[http://springbreakcancun.com/ Spring Break Cancun]

*[http://interoz.com/springbreak/ Panama City Beach Florida Spring Break]

*[http://springbreak.com/ SpringBreak.com]

*[http://www.spireviews.com/articles/spring_break.html An online guide for those interested in enjoying Spring Break 2005 at South Padre Island, Texas.]

*[http://www.springbreak.as.ro/ Student SpringBreak]

*[http://www.collegestories.com/topicInd.aspx?tid=7]

[[Category:Tourism]]

[[Category:Tourism by nation]]

[[de:Spring Break]]