begin. This summer holiday extends until June. Indonesia In Indonesia, the first day of school is usually in mid-July. Iran In Iran, the first day of school is in late September, which is the first day of Mehr (Seventh Solar Hijri month). The schools end in late June, the last day of Khordad (Fourth Solar Hijri month). Israel The first day of school in Israel is September 1, or September 2 if September 1 falls on Shabbath (Saturday). The last day of school is June 30 for elementary school and June 20 for secondary and high school. Japan The first day of school in Japan (for all schools) falls on either April 7 or 8. School usually ends on March 24, giving the students a one week break between the years. School starts in April because the National government in the Meiji era defined their financial year from April to March from 1886, forcing all the schools to align to their financial year. Since then, the time sakura, or cherry blossoms, start to bloom became the season of meeting and farewell for the Japanese. Before that, from the 7th century to 1872, the Japanese authority defined their financial year from January to December. From 1872 to 1886, the financial year was changed three times. Jordan In Jordan, the first day of school is on September 1 for most of the schools. Each school year consists of two semester, with a winter break (short holiday) and a summer break (long holiday), though the beginning and ending of each semester is not the same each year. Korea In Korea, the school year begins on March 1, but the first day of school in Korea is on March 2, as March 1 is a national holiday. The last day of school is in early January or February. It was common for students to end their second semester in late December, take a month off for winter vacation, come back to school for few weeks and then take a few weeks off for spring vacation before March. However, this has changed a lot recently and many schools are choosing to extend their second semester until early January before taking a longer break until the start of the school year in March. Malaysia The school year for primary and secondary schools in Malaysia starts in early March (used to be January before 2021) and ends