White crayons on the windowsill, spoons under pillows, ice cubes in the toilet, and inside out pajamas. All these are tactics to predict the unpredictable: A snow day! Everyone enjoys a good snow day where they can relax and take a break from the busy school week. Being on standby for the eagerly awaited phone call that announces the next 24 hours is pure freedom. It can be difficult, however, to wait for the 50/50 chance that school is called off. This calls for people to take it into their own hands and follow superstitions to boost their luck!

While these tactics may seem silly, they are fun and nostalgic for students. Many people have done these from a young age and participating in them provides that sense of childhood that is often missed by this age. Sophomore Ella Cain explained that she has been doing these traditions for years after learning them from her brothers. Cain stated that, “I flush ice cubes down the toilet, I put a white crayon in my window and I put a spoon under my pillow, but I don’t do the inside out pajamas because they are uncomfortable.”

Similar to Cain’s experience, sophomore Vivien Rittenberry explains that she too follows the standard superstitions, with the addition of wishing on a shooting star if she is lucky enough to see one. She went on to state that she and her brother would continually follow the traditions together since kindergarten. This sense of nostalgia and family that these superstitions provide is a large reason that it is so commonly continued. Rittenberry added that “[I learned them] because my mom taught them to my brother, and then my brother went on to teach them to me.” These superstitions have passed through generations and family members, keeping them alive over time.

While they may seem random, there is some reasoning behind why the superstitions were created. According to Mental Floss, the number of ice cubes flushed down the toilet is supposedly the total inches of snow to come. Spoons can often be found under pillows in order to summon the “Snow day Fairy”; spoons specifically are used in order to “bring in the cold air” and provide snow in the morning, possibly due to the fact that metal is a cold material. White crayons are found on windowsills in order to “draw” snow down from the sky. A less common tradition is a “snow dance” that can be done by kids to encourage the weather to work in their favor. This originates from the Native American tradition to promote the turn of the seasons.

These superstitions aren’t just an attempt to influence the weather, but also continued on for the aspect of a family connection and tradition.While they might be impractical, snow day traditions are a light and fun way to uplift the mood, and raise the hopes for students during a glum or boring school week.