March 14, 2017, was a snow day at the University of Maryland, my spring break destination. Naturally, students were thrilled to have the day off. Exams and assignments got pushed back, people got a chance to sleep in, and there was all the more time to celebrate Pi Day. Surely snow days mess up a few plans or schedules, but overall, people love snow days.

I know I love snow days, but since I’m not a student at the University of Maryland I didn’t really get one. However, as a result of the same snowstorm, Colgate closed down campus two days in a row. But…it was spring break and there were absolutely zero classes in session. Don’t get me wrong, spring break is great, but my immediate reaction was that I wanted to be in school. I wanted to be at Colgate and have classes just so I could have them canceled. That strikes me as a whole other level of loving snow days.

So, why do I love snow days so much?

In high school, I remember the pleasant surprise of waking up just to realize school was closed and I could go back to bed, but these recent closings were announced the night before so they weren’t morning surprises.

I also remember the extra hours that could be used to go sledding or build a snowman, but to be honest I’m pretty old and washed up because there’s absolutely no guarantee that if I had a snow day I’d do either of those things- I certainly wouldn’t initiate them. In fact, I’d probably spend my snow day working. I’d work ahead on my snow day to make my future normal days easier.

Regardless, everyone loves having extra time to do whatever it is they may do, but this can’t quite explain why I wanted a snow day so badly that I’d emotionally compromise my spring break. Yes, the little perks of snow days are exciting, and they happen only rarely, but they aren’t THAT exciting.

I suppose they were that exciting when I was younger, so perhaps that youthful snow day spirit is simply ingrained enough to persist even when the snow day’s activities are less exciting and I’m less youthful.

For example, I tell people all the time I think snow is magical, and I attribute that largely to the fact that I grew up in Florida. Not having snow made me all the more enamored of it. Even now, when I see snow all the time, I’m no less excited by it.

I think this is the same with so many things we get inexplicably excited about, that childhood excitement never really fades. For me, that’d include decorating Christmas cookies, breaking the wishbone at Thanksgiving, and eating chocolate specifically in the shape of bunnies for Easter.

Notably, all those things are traditions. And there you have it: the magic of snow days is that in some way they’ve risen to the level of tradition. Not tradition as in that they come at a specific time each year, but tradition as in when the time comes for a snow day we are internally programmed how to respond. That right there is the key to tradition. A tradition is only meaningful if one responds emotionally to a particular action or event, instead of merely going through the motions to render the appropriate physical response.

Examples of the latter become things we no longer get super excited about like we did as children. For me that includes sitting in the front seat, ordering anything other than water at restaurants, and staying up late just for the heck of it.

Imagine how much fun life would be if drinking soda with dinner at a restaurant were as exciting as having a snow day. Well, the cool thing about traditions is we get to create them (“Bum Wednesday” is still one of my greatest high school accomplishments), and I think if we are intentional in conjuring up positive memories affiliated with our present actions, we can invite a whole slew of excitement into our daily lives.