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Original poster

It's not bloody half term!

369 replies

Dotdashdottinghell · 25/03/2024 08:13

Why / when did every school holiday become half term?

The half term holidays are February, Whitsun and October, not Easter, Christmas and thr summer.

People keep saying "Happy half term" or "Enjoy the half term" etc. Why is this an accepted thing?

OP posts:
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7
angela1952 · 28/03/2024 09:55

hopsalong · 25/03/2024 08:22

I HATE this. When did it start? I didn't notice it until my younger son was in reception a couple of years ago. Now ubiquitous.

And it's just WRONG!

MasterBeth · 28/03/2024 10:19

ReadingSoManyThreads · 27/03/2024 16:29

Gee thanks for your explanation, as a former teacher, I'd never have known 🙄

Easter still doesn't belong to schools though, it's "Easter holidays", there are other non-school people who have longer at Easter to you know!

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By talking about the Easter school holidays, no-one is claiming that Easter belongs to school, they are just clarifying that they are referring to the school holidays taking place at Easter.

If you were a teacher, I'm glad my kids weren't in your class.

MasterBeth · 28/03/2024 10:24

Katiesaidthat · 27/03/2024 12:51

I don´t agree, now instead of Christmas cards, we have Holiday cards. To me the holidays are the summer holidays. The rest are Christmas and Easter. I work for an American company and it is even more noticeable. Our Christmas cards say Happy Holidays, or The Holiday Season. A Moroccan friend of mine used to laugh at this. All this pussy footing around Christian denominations so as not to offend. She thought it was downright weird. Agree with her.

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Yes, in the US, a fiercely and legally non-denominational nation, with a large ethnically Jewish population who celebrate Hannukah at around the same time as Christmas, it has always been more usual to say Happy Holidays as well as Happy Christmas.

In the UK, we probably get 50 Christmas cards a year and if one or two of them say Happy Holidays, I would be surprised.

And yes, in the UK, "holiday" tends to mean "vacation", which makes the "Happy holidays" idea even less relevant here.

ReadingSoManyThreads · 28/03/2024 19:36

MasterBeth · 28/03/2024 10:19

By talking about the Easter school holidays, no-one is claiming that Easter belongs to school, they are just clarifying that they are referring to the school holidays taking place at Easter.

If you were a teacher, I'm glad my kids weren't in your class.

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I taught children, not baby goats 😑

SabreIsMyFave · 29/03/2024 00:01

ReadingSoManyThreads · 28/03/2024 19:36

I taught children, not baby goats 😑

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@ReadingSoManyThreads

I know you are attempting to be totes hilaire and failing, but the fact is that whilst a kid is indeed a baby goat, KID also means child. It's in the dictionary. Surely with you having once been a teacher, should have know this?

Good grief, how disturbing and worrying that you didn't know something as simple and basic as this! Shock

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/kid

kid

1. a child: 2. a young person: 3. someone's younger sister or brother:

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/kid

Ahsoka2001 · 29/03/2024 00:13

Oh how I wish I had your problems

ReadingSoManyThreads · 29/03/2024 00:41

SabreIsMyFave · 29/03/2024 00:01

@ReadingSoManyThreads

I know you are attempting to be totes hilaire and failing, but the fact is that whilst a kid is indeed a baby goat, KID also means child. It's in the dictionary. Surely with you having once been a teacher, should have know this?

Good grief, how disturbing and worrying that you didn't know something as simple and basic as this! Shock

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/kid

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"Surely with you having once been a teacher, should have know this?

Good grief, how disturbing and worrying that you didn't know something as simple and basic as this!"

Jesus, seriously? I haven't been living under a rock you know, I'm well aware what she meant FFS Get a grip!

StructuredColumn · 29/03/2024 06:39

Utterknowitall · 27/03/2024 07:33

People love to pussyfoot around Muslims. I know quite a few Muslims and they couldn't care less if we use the terms Easter and Christmas and Jesus. Many will have a roast dinner on Christmas Day and exchange gifts (to a lesser extent than many of us white British.) And I'm sure a few Muslim kids will be getting Easter eggs so they're not left out. This is my personal experience and one of my closest friends is a hijab wearing Muslim born in Pakistan.

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I am Muslim and never met any Muslims who gave a shit about this stuff. Not when I was at school in the seventies and not now. It’s Christmas, Easter and summer holidays and that’s fine.

StructuredColumn · 29/03/2024 06:43

ReadingSoManyThreads · 28/03/2024 19:36

I taught children, not baby goats 😑

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Do people like you say this cliche to try and look clever or funny? Because it really has the opposite effect…

WOMANDOWNN · 30/03/2024 11:56

StructuredColumn · 25/03/2024 18:05

Yes. When something major is going on then it’s easier to focus on the trivial sometimes.

And most people aren’t actually thinking about this 24/7. There is a thread on this that reminds them of this new idiocy so they join in the griping and move on.

It is such a stupid trite cliche when people say what you have done.

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Sorry for the late reply I was enjoying half term

CharlotteBog · 30/03/2024 13:11

My son called it 1/2 term today. He's year 10 and has never called the holidays 1/2 term before. I think it must be creeping in everywhere.

Maybe I'll set him some work for the second week of the holiday since 1/2 terms holidays are only a week. That might help him remember....

pistachioicecream · 05/04/2024 14:22

Argh.....

Even companies are at it. Just got a marketing email from Barclaycard.

It's NOT half term!!!

It's not bloody half term!
enchantedsquirrelwood · 05/04/2024 16:24

Someone at work used it today as well, saying "oh it's half term so I will postpone this meeting to later in April".

I DO wanted to say "I thought this was the Easter holidays and half term is in May).

But I didn't.

enchantedsquirrelwood · 05/04/2024 16:25

Also someone asked in a local Facebook group what activities people could do in "half term". People gave suggestions for this week and next.

I felt like saying "she asked about half term (which isn't until May), not this week".

But I didn't.

fashionqueen1183 · 05/04/2024 22:57

enchantedsquirrelwood · 05/04/2024 16:25

Also someone asked in a local Facebook group what activities people could do in "half term". People gave suggestions for this week and next.

I felt like saying "she asked about half term (which isn't until May), not this week".

But I didn't.

I would 🤣

Rainrainrainrainrainrainrain · 05/04/2024 23:04

It is also not spring break!

DappledThings · 06/04/2024 06:43

enchantedsquirrelwood · 05/04/2024 16:24

Someone at work used it today as well, saying "oh it's half term so I will postpone this meeting to later in April".

I DO wanted to say "I thought this was the Easter holidays and half term is in May).

But I didn't.

I did the other day. In the pub with a couple of other school mums:
"You up to much at half-term?"
"Half-term? In May? Or the Easter holidays?"
"The Easter half-term"
"That's not half-term [explains why]
"I just call any time the kids are off school half-term"

Then on WhatsApp later she called it half-term but with a smiley face so she knew it was just winding me up. Don't mind that, it means she had taken on board it's wrong even if she's still going to use it

AllProperTeaIsTheft · 06/04/2024 12:48

It is also not spring break!

Definitely not!

enchantedsquirrelwood · 06/04/2024 16:37

Today someone has posted in my local FB group to say "I can help but am away until after the half term break".

I suspect she isn't - only until the end of next week :)

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