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

Autumn leaf color

Autumn leaf color is a phenomenon that affects the normally green leaves of many deciduous trees and shrubs by which they take on, during a few weeks in the autumn season, one or many colors that range from red to yellow...

 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 Dec. 11, 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

Sustainable development

Sustainable development is a pattern of resource use, that aims to meet human needs while preserving the environment so that these needs can be met not only in the present, but also for generations to come...

 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

Mount Holyoke

Mount Holyoke, a traprock mountain, elevation , is the western-most peak of the Holyoke Range and part of the 100-mile Metacomet Ridge. The mountain is located in the Connecticut River Valley of western Massachusetts, and is the namesake of nearby Mount Holyoke College. The mountain is located in...

. Smith College

Smith College

Smith College is a private, independent women's liberal arts college located in Northampton, Massachusetts. It is the largest member of the Seven Sisters...

 declared its Mountain Day in 1877. Juniata College

Juniata College

Juniata College is a private liberal arts college located in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania. It is named after the Juniata River — one of the principal tributaries of the Susquehanna River. In 1876 it became the first college founded by the Church of the Brethren and has been co-educational since...

 established its Mountain Day in 1896, and Williams College

Williams College

Williams College is a private liberal arts college located in Williamstown, Massachusetts, United States. It was established in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim Williams. Originally a men's college, Williams became co-educational in 1970. Fraternities were also phased out during this...

 students have been climbing Mount Greylock

Mount Greylock

Mount Greylock is the highest natural point in Massachusetts at . Its peak is located in the northwest corner of the state in the western part of the town of Adams in Berkshire County. Although geologically part of the Taconic Mountains, Mount Greylock is commonly associated with the abutting...

, the highest mountain in Massachusetts, to celebrate Mountain Day since the 1800s.

Secondary schools observing Mountain Day include Walnut Hill School, in Natick, Mass., which climbs Mount Monadnock

Mount Monadnock

Mount Monadnock, or Grand Monadnock, is the most prominent New England mountain peak south of the White Mountains and east of the Massachusetts Berkshires, and is the highest point in Cheshire County, New Hampshire...

, and Gould Academy

Gould Academy

Gould Academy is a private, co-ed, college preparatory boarding and day school located in the small town of Bethel, Maine, United States. Founded in 1835, the school offers skiing and snowboarding programs, although unlike specialized "ski academies" it remains first and foremost a college-prep...

, in Bethel, Maine

Bethel, Maine

Bethel is a town in Oxford County, Maine, United States. The population was 2,411 at the 2000 census. It includes the villages of West Bethel and South Bethel...

, which climbs Tumbledown Mountain

Tumbledown Mountain

Tumbledown Mountain is a mountain in Franklin County, Maine.The mountain is a popular hiking spot in western Maine, with trailheads located on Byron Road in unincorporated Township 6, north of Weld. It is distinguished by an alpine pond just below the summit...

. Miss Porter's School

Miss Porter's School

Miss Porter's School, sometimes simply referred to as Porter's or Farmington, is a private college preparatory school for girls located in Farmington, Connecticut.- History :...

 in Farmington, CT observes Mountain Day once a semester. Sandy Spring Friends School

Sandy Spring Friends School

Sandy Spring Friends School is a Quaker pre-Kindergarten through Twelfth Grade co-educational college preparatory day school with optional five and seven day boarding programs in the Upper School. SSFS is located on a wooded campus in the historic Quaker community of Sandy Spring in the heart of...

, in Sandy Spring, Maryland held a Mountain Day at Sugarloaf Mountain until the 1970s.

In 2005, a student at Outfly

Outfly

A Wartburg College tradition that traces back to the 1890s and is sometimes called by its German name, "Ausflug," Outfly is a student-initiated, one-day holiday. It now occurs once a year during the Fall Term and Winter Term...

, an equivalent celebration at Wartburg College

Wartburg College

Wartburg College is a selective four-year liberal arts college of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America located in Waverly, Iowa. Wartburg West is in Denver, Colorado....

 (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."

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."

International Mountain Day is "observed every year with a different theme relevant to sustainable mountain development. FAO

Food and Agriculture Organization

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations is a specialised agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger. Serving both developed and developing countries, FAO acts as a neutral forum where all nations meet as equals to negotiate agreements and...

 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

Indigenous peoples

Indigenous peoples are ethnic groups that are defined as indigenous according to one of the various definitions of the term, there is no universally accepted definition but most of which carry connotations of being the "original inhabitants" of a territory....

." 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."

External links

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