TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Three of Taiwan's top universities said Saturday (March 16) their new school year winter break is scheduled to begin on Dec. 23 and will be the earliest winter break in history.

National Taiwan University (NTU), National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU), and National Taiwan University of Science and Technology (NTUST) will embrace the early winter break starting this year. UDN reported that the Hsinchu-based National Tsing Hua University (NTHU) and National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University (NYCU) may follow suit.

There will be 58 days for the winter break on the 2024-2025 school year calendar for the schools, marking the third year with a winter break exceeding 50 days. 

NTNU officials said the early winter break is designed to allow international students to return home early for Christmas. "Aligning school calendar with the world's most celebrated holiday is a trend if the schools are recruiting more students from abroad," said Dr. Liu Mei-hui (劉美慧), NTNU's chief academic and administrative officer.