Mamamontezz's Mental Rumpus Room

"Spring" break?

Today is Good Friday, and my daughter is in school. Although it is only a half-day, the fact remains that she is in school. And where does she go to school? St. Michael the Archangel parochial school in Indianapolis, Indiana, a Catholic school.

When, you might ask, was her Easter Spring Vacation? Why, that was last week, silly. Spring Break at about the same time the colleges schedule theirs, so Muffy, a major in Girls Gone Wild Political Science can take her little fourth-grade brother Chip to Cancun with her.

Easter Vacation (call it what it is, please) used to be the week immediately before Easter. This allowed children to participate in Holy Week activities and services like Maundy Thursday and Good Friday. I certainly remember doing the Stations of the Cross during Holy Week. The church sponsored programs and activities for all of the kids who weren't able to attend the parochial school, and we would make "holy cards" or color pictures of lilies and lambs.

But no one does that now. I imagine that in the back of someone's head, aligning vacation time with a holiday or holy season is just too provocative, even for a school operated by and providing Catholic, Christian, Religious instruction. Someone might imply this was some tacit acceptance or approval of a Religion. Can't have that... Or can we?