What is Winter Break?
Winter Break is just that: a break from studies at the beginning of winter observed by educational institutions in North America and most of Europe (several Southern Hemisphere countries also have a break over the same span of time, but it is their Summer Break). During Winter Break, schools are closed and attendance is not required by either teachers or students.
The length of Winter Break varies from school to school, but Winter Break always falls over the holidays of Christmas Eve (Dec. 24), Christmas Day (Dec. 25), New Year's Eve (Dec. 31), and New Year's Day (Jan. 1). Depending on the year, Winter Break also intersects with the holidays of Hanukkah (varies), Kwanzaa (Dec. 26-Jan. 1), and Epiphany (Jan. 6). Winter Break occurs for most schools halfway through the year and divides the fall and spring semester. Most K-12 schools have a Winter Break lasting around two weeks; however, colleges and some private schools hold a month-long break between semesters.
Where Winter Break Originates
Christmas Day was not declared a federal holiday in America until 1870. Before the late 1800s, Christmas was a not a family-oriented holiday; rather, Christmas celebrations involved reversals of societal roles and misrule--in England, rich men would serve breakfast to their butlers, and at home, children would act as parent for the day. This carried into the school setting, where students would take power from their teachers using a practice called "barring out the schoolmaster."
The first American schools were very different from modern school. Instead of a principle, each school had a schoolmaster (often a teacher as well) who made the school rules and delivered the punishments. Only the schoolmaster could decide when school would be closed... and schoolmaster never wanted the school closed. Instead of being paid through taxes like they are now, early teachers were paid every day by students (usually a few cents or some other gift, like an apple). When school closed down, the teachers and schoolmaster wouldn't be paid. So to earn a break from school over Christmas, students had to force school to close.
In the middle of the night, students would go to the school carrying weapons, ammunition, and provisions. The students then broke into the school and secured it. The next morning, when the schoolmaster would go to open the doors, the students would announce that they had taken the school hostage and wouldn't leave unless the schoolmaster agreed to a vacation, usually between eight and ten days long. Often, the students taunted the schoolmaster by singing:
No more English, No more French,
No more sitting on the hard old bench,
Kick up tables, kick up chairs,
Kick old [schoolmaster's name] down the stairs.
The schoolmaster would usually then rouse the parents and together everyone would negotiate the days off. Occasionally, the schoolmaster would gather his own troops and surround the school, trying to starve out and defeat the students; though occasionally shots were fired during these altercations, no deaths ever occurred.
Barring out the schoolmaster was first recorded in the Americas in 1702, yet the practice comes from older English customs. As time went on, schools started paying teachers through local taxes, and schoolmasters were more willing to grant breaks without being forced (many also wanted to avoid the damage done to the school by the students each year). Eventually, Christmas and New Year's Day became federal holidays--meaning government employees had the day off--and schools started planning a regular holiday vacation spanning both holidays.
Sources
Nissenbaum, Stephen. The Battle for Christmas. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1996. Print.
Reflection
How does the internet make discovering information about our own culture or the cultures of others easier?