A while back I asked if you knew how the tradition of college students going to warmer climates during their [tag]spring break[/tag] started. The unofficial answer from the [tag]Sallie Mae[/tag] newsletter is that spring break dates to ancient rituals of the Greeks. Back the, people of “mate-able” age welcomed the return of spring in rituals celebrating [tag]Dionysus[/tag]. You might say they partied like it was 999. More modern day thinking is that the tradition began in the 19th century. Traveling to the coast or a mineral spring as a restorative cure for “the rigors of academic life” was common among the well-to-do set of [tag]American[/tag] [tag]college students[/tag] in the 1800s. Fort Lauderdale’s reputation as a spring break hotspot started when the [tag]Colgate University[/tag] swim team came there to practice in 1935. It became even more popular due to the film, Where The Boys Are, in which co-eds met boys on Spring break.

During the 1970s, [tag]Fort Lauderdale[/tag] was replaced by [tag]Daytona Beach[/tag] because it was cheaper, closer to cold locales and had looser regulations. In the 80s, GenXers began to add a touch of sophistication as activities expanded to sports and trips to tourist spots. The 90s brought greater diversification. No longer was [tag]Florida[/tag] the only spot to go. The three top spots predicted for 2007 are [tag]Cancun[/tag], [tag]Rosarito[/tag] and [tag]Acapulco[/tag] which are all in [tag]Mexico[/tag].