Snow Days: a Time when Things were Simpler

Waking up and opening your window to see if it had snowed outside, and then running around the house trying to figure out if you had off; it was all part of the snow day ritual. But the real ritual started the night before, putting your spoon under your bed, or flushing ice down your toilet, anything to get off. Pennridge senior Taylor Landis said, “I probably prayed as well.” When asked about the things you would do as a child to better your chances of having off, we would do almost anything.

Many traditions are created during snow days that you continue to carry through the rest of your life.  Pennridge teacher, Thomas Wyatt has a tradition of starting an outdoor firepit in his yard every year; he would start the fire so he wouldn’t have to go all the way inside to get warm. Wyatt says when it comes to snow day activities, he would “check all the boxes” which would include hot chocolate, going outside, sledding, and everything you would do. When asked in a survey how students would spend their snow days all the answers were filled with memories of family members or traditions they started, all fond things to look back at or continue on now. People also recalled tons of fun activities like having a snowball fight, going skiing or snowboarding, making snow forts, and going hiking. All things you do now as a high school student that you may have started when you were young.

It’s a nice thing to reflect on, especially during the holidays, to see how far you’ve come and what you carry with you during the holiday season. When asked in the same survey if students enjoyed snow days as a child, 100 percent of people said yes, because you create such fond memories during that time and there’s no stress of school and grades. There are so many activities you can do inside and outside, You can look for animal tracks, make snow angels, make an igloo, make slushies with the snow, and watch the snow fall. But, if you’re more of an indoor person you can still watch the snow fall from inside while you bake cookies, make hot chocolate, watch Christmas movies, or cut out paper snowflakes; the possibilities are endless.

There are also a number of different ways people have been trying to heighten the chances of snow days through superstitions. You have the normal spoon under your pillow, or wearing your pajamas inside out, but there are also other ones like putting a white crayon in the freezer, flushing ice cubes down your toilet, or only sleeping with one sock on, so many things we used to do as children that many of us have probably left behind. One of the reasons snow days were so fun when we were little was because we didn’t have anything to worry about for the day, no school, no homework, just out in the snow having fun doing things with friends and family, making memories; remembering them all now is a great way to spend your holiday season.