Mountain Day

Mountain Day is a traditional student celebration in which classes are cancelled without prior notice, and the student body heads to the mountains or a park.

The day chosen is often a beautiful, crisp day when the fall foliage is in full color. Mountain Day is most commonly observed at educational institutions in the Northeastern U.S.

International Mountain Day, held each year on 11 December, was established by the UN General Assembly in 2003. The UN encourages events to be organized at all levels that day on behalf of sustainable development in mountains.

Mountain Day celebrations

Mountain Day dates back to at least 1838, when the students of Mount Holyoke College headed off to Mount Holyoke.^[1] Smith College declared its Mountain Day in 1877.^[2] Juniata College established its Mountain Day in 1896,^[3] and Williams College students have been climbing Mount Greylock, the highest mountain in Massachusetts, to celebrate Mountain Day since the 1800s.^[4] Colby-Sawyer College's Mountain Day is stated to have started in the 1850s although the first account of it in the student newspaper is not listed until June 1893.^[5]

Secondary schools observing Mountain Day include Walnut Hill School, in Natick, Mass., which climbs Mount Monadnock, and Gould Academy, in Bethel, Maine, which climbs Tumbledown Mountain. Miss Porter's School in Farmington, CT observes Mountain Day once a semester. Sandy Spring Friends School, in Sandy Spring, Maryland held a Mountain Day at Sugarloaf Mountain until the 1970s.

In 2005, a student at Outfly, an equivalent celebration at Wartburg College (where there are no mountains), remarked wistfully to a reporter: "It's a tradition we won't be able to continue into our adult lives ... and we wish we could."^[6]

International Mountain Day, Dec. 11

December 11, "International Mountain Day", was designated by the United Nations General Assembly in 2003. The General Assembly "encouraged the international community to organize events at all levels on that day to highlight the importance of sustainable mountain development."^[7]

International Mountain Day is "observed every year with a different theme relevant to sustainable mountain development. FAO is the U.N. Organization mandated to lead observance of International Mountain Day.

The theme for International Mountain Day 2010 is "Mountain minorities and indigenous peoples." It aims to raise awareness about indigenous peoples and minorities who live in mountain environments and the relevance of their cultural heritage, traditions and customs."^[8]

See also

• Outfly, Wartburg College fall holiday
• Leaf peeping

References

External links

• International Mountain Day, 11 December, official UN page
• International Mountain Day 2010