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AIBU?

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Original poster

Half term didn't used to exist did it?

238 replies

EthicalNonMahogany · 09/04/2022 09:51

I feel gaslit by the world! The number of people who are saying to me "oh, at school we always used to call the Easter, Christmas and summer break half term". No you didn't! You used to call it the Easter holidays. It was the holiday that happens at the end of term.

"Half term" used to happen three times a year and was the week off, half way through each term.

I know there have been threads on this before - I'm not disputing that many people now call all the holidays half term. It seems to be the thing now. (Stupid and inaccurate as it may be, but I shall endeavour to cope and life will go on Grin)

My AIBU is this - people are saying it was always that way. AIBU to say no it bloody wasn't!!

OP posts:
BusinessMindThoughts · 09/04/2022 10:34

I'd never heard/ seen anyone calling it 'easter half-term' until the other day on an email or something and I thought they were a bit muddled/ not someone used to dealing with schools etc.

Didn't realise it was a thing ppl said! It's definitely wrong.

Notgotanyidea · 09/04/2022 10:34

Autumn 1
October half term
Autumn 2
Christmas holiday
Spring 1
February half term
Spring 2
Easter holiday
Summer 1
May (Whitsun) half term
Summer 2
Summer holiday

me4real · 09/04/2022 10:34

YANBU, if people are doing that it's odd. The end of term break is an end of term break, not a half term one.

Changechangychange · 09/04/2022 10:34

Autumn term, Spring term, Summer term. With a break halfway through each, which is called “half term”. Because it is half way through the term. And Christmas break, Easter break and Summer break between the terms.

What batshit person thinks the 8 weeks off in Summer is a half term? Confused

gingercat02 · 09/04/2022 10:34

It's a MN thing. No one I know IRL calls them half term, no matter which country of the UK they live in or how old they are. HT is the week long October, February and May ones OP I agree

Beautiful3 · 09/04/2022 10:35

Half term holidays are called that, because they are half way through the term!

BusinessMindThoughts · 09/04/2022 10:36

@WallaceinAnderland

I just think it's a shorter way to refer to school holidays.

Half term is two syllables - Easter holidays is five.

That's it.

Those people are wrong. That's my one-syllable efficient way of saying "those people are using imprecise language that may well cause miscommunication"
BoredZelda · 09/04/2022 10:36

This is a weird thing to be really annoyed about!

As others have said, we don’t even have half term in Scotland.

TokyoSushi · 09/04/2022 10:37

I think I'm just annoyed because I've heard it about 20 times this week from various people! I know, I'm pretty lucky if that's the only thing I have to worry about!

BoredZelda · 09/04/2022 10:37

imprecise language that may well cause miscommunication

But the kids are off school, no matter what you call it.

ThatPosterIsSoRight · 09/04/2022 10:37

YANBU

I hear it all the time - from people with kids, from people without kids - where did it come from?? School holidays surely if it doesn’t necessarily tie in with Easter. But not half term. I’d say I’ve only heard this in the last 5 years at the most.

Been driving me mad too

Awalkintime · 09/04/2022 10:38

We used to get a September week and a half term in October up to about 2005 maybe.

HollowedOut · 09/04/2022 10:38

Air was always called half term in my house growing up. Sometimes the June half term might also be called Whit week though. The holidays at the moment are the Easter holidays.

TerrifiedandWorried · 09/04/2022 10:39

There used to be 3 terms a year. Now there are 6. So there were 3 half term holidays.

I've heard 2 people this week call this half term having never heard it before. It's surprisingly annoying.

Eggsley · 09/04/2022 10:39

Everyone used to call the October, February and May weeks off "half term" where I am. Christmas, Easter and summer were the relevant "holidays".

Now everyone is calling Christmas and Easter "half term" as well and it is driving me mad. DH is the worst! It's not bloody half term, it's the end of a whole term!

Glad it's not just me who has noticed this and is annoyed by it.

SenselessUbiquity · 09/04/2022 10:40

People can accuse me of living in a bubble, an echo chamber, whatever you like. It's true. I have NEVER heard this in my life before. Perhaps I am one of those people who is so feeble and unworldly that everyone instinctively understands that I need and expect to protected from the rawest horrors of gritty real life, so people censor themselves around me. I can't believe such horrors exist, frankly. Pass me the smelling salts.

Luredbyapomegranate · 09/04/2022 10:40

Yes it was like that in the 70s/80s

But I think it’s still like that now - i’ve only heard half term for the short break in the middle of term, and then Easter/summer/Christmas holidays for the main breaks

Dinoteeth · 09/04/2022 10:42

I'm also Scotland.

They were called October week, February break, and May weekends I'm not sure which May weekend is 'half-term'.

My mum calls the February holiday "teachers rest" Grin I can't imagine that was ever the official name for it.

Easter weekend may or may not be attached to the very Americanly named "Spring break"

Summer holidays and Christmas holidays never Spring holidays 🙃

toomuchlaundry · 09/04/2022 10:42

Annoys me too!

2pinkginsplease · 09/04/2022 10:43

We are in Scotland and have never used the phrase half term. For us it was October holidays, Christmas holidays, Easter holidays and Summer holidays, with some long weekends off through or the year.

I think it was on parenting forums that I first head of half term .

DigsDilemma · 09/04/2022 10:47

We've just had the end of term and are now in the Easter holidays. In May we have the Whitsun half term holiday. Isn't that what everyone thinks? I've never heard of calling all the holidays half term.

Kennykenkencat · 09/04/2022 10:48

Well if it is 1/2 term instead of the Easter Holidays does that mean that children will be going back to school after 1 week off.

Do people think the term runs from mid February to mid June?

Never ever heard of this
If some one ask me what I was doing for half term I would tell them I hadn’t planned that far ahead. Let’s get over the Easter Holidays never mind what I would be doing half way through next term.

I am sure some of these things are a conspiracy to muddle people up

isithotinhereorisitjustme · 09/04/2022 10:49

I don't know where it's come from, but even my IL's (mid 70's) are at it - we had a confusing conversation a couple of weeks ago where they asked when half term started and I waffled away about the extra Bank Holiday in June and it being slightly longer this time etc, but turns out they meant when do the Easter Holidays start!!

Apileofballyhoo · 09/04/2022 10:49

Despite saying I haven't heard anyone in Ireland doing this I've just seen it on a FB group I'm in. Somebody is going away for midterm break.

Is it to do with religion playing a much smaller role in society?

TeacupDrama · 09/04/2022 10:51

we are in Scotland we have 4 terms and don't really use half term except for february break, we have Autumn term then approx 2 weeks in mid October called "October break" then winter term followed by Christmas holidays then spring term which includes a half term break mid february then Easter or Spring holidays ( nearly always first two weeks in April) then follows Summer term with long weekend in May this year it's June for Platinium jubilee then finish at end of June for Summer holidays