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cross-quarter days
I've long thought it a little counterintuitive that seasons are said to begin and end on the equinoxes and solstices—after all, wouldn't you naïvely expect the longest day of the year, the summer solstice, to be the middle of summer (midsommar!) and not its beginning? (I would say that the seasons and the length of the days are 90 degrees out of phase... )
I learned on the radio today that the days midway between solstices and equinoxes are called cross-quarter days, and in many cultures do mark the boundaries of the seasons.
Today is November's cross-quarter day, marking the middle of astronomical autumn, and the first day of traditional winter.
I learned on the radio today that the days midway between solstices and equinoxes are called cross-quarter days, and in many cultures do mark the boundaries of the seasons.
Today is November's cross-quarter day, marking the middle of astronomical autumn, and the first day of traditional winter.
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Calendar seasons are about six weeks behind (or ahead, depending on your latitude) of astronomical seasons. The reason - the seasons are defined by the tilt of the earth, which affects incident sunlight. The solstices (when "the sun stands still") mark maximal tilt, either toward or away from the sun. The eqinoxes when the earth is vertical in relation to the sun and folks at the equator get a perfect twelve hour day. Now, the fun part is the atmosphere - it takes time to heat up and cool off - about six weeks. Which is why late August is dead hot and miserable in the Northern hemisphere, and February usually the part of winter that makes your teeth freeze. Even though, for both months, the period of strongest and weakest light has long since passed. It really is easier to base your calendar on what's happening with the sun on the equator than defining a different season based on varying changes for each latitude change. Otherwise Alaska (much like Cleveland) would have eight months of winter and about two weeks of real summer!
I'm an Imbolc baby - so of course that's my favorite cross quarter day. Also, oddly, I think the only one celebrated as a Sabbat.
I go by Sabbats, not calendar weather. I prefer the times with the most sunlight, so I like the period from Ostara to Mabon. (Spring to Autumn equinoxes.) But I also prefer the times when I know there's more light acomin', so in truth, I dig more Imbolc to Litha. (Feb 1 or 2 to Summer solstice.) So when you work it all out, Calendar Spring is my favorite season - more sunlight than dark, and that increasing.
Of course, I know you know the physics of all this, I've actually had to explain this to several folks previously, so I kinda went by rote. No insult intended ;-)
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90 degrees would put us off by a whole season instead of just half a season.
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Winter Solstice
While you have the almanac out, look at the times of sunrise/sunset for dates near the equinox. You'll find that the day of 12 hour day & 12 hour night occurs several days before the spring equinox. The causes (there are two) are left as an exercise for the student.
Re: Winter Solstice
fwiw
In the hallway of their rear entrance, there is an image of the foothills where I live, covered in snow, taken in January. Which makes sense, given the charts you've posted. Though it was cold here this year, certainly there was no snow. People are quick to attribute human causes to global warming, and I'm not a meteorologist/geologist so I can't comment on the available data. But I wonder if it will ever snow again here during my lifetime. Maybe once?
Anyway, thinking of 10th August as one way to consider the beginning of Fall Proper just seems wrong. It is WAY too freakin hot, even into October, to feel in any way Autumnal. Intuitively, the equinoxes and solstices do seem like a silly place to start a season, but as it happens in So Cal, it works pretty well. It must be different Back East, when summer ends late August and indian summers are rare. Or are they?
Anyway,
a) we should hang out, and
b) is this the most responses you've ever had to a post?
Re: fwiw
b) it's a lot for recent times, but i think I used to get way more. I think my peer group went through its livejournal phase, and most are not very active here anymore. )-: