I look forward to the solstices and equinoxes every year, but I can’t for the life of me understand why.
Perhaps there is something primordial ingrained into our consciousness, with some being more intrigued or sensitive to the movements of the earth around the sun and the lengthening or shortening of daylight hours.
Today is the longest day of the year, with Midsummer’s Day a scant four days away. Though it will strike most as peculiar, when it comes to the idea of midsummer, I agree with Dr. Charlton’s assessment that the summer solstice/Midsummer Day marks the middle of the summer rather than its beginning.
My garden provides ample “evidence” that this is indeed the case. The early blooming flowers have all withered away, while the later blossoming ones are now in full bloom. Though quite lush and green, the grass hints that it will soon take a break and dry out before engaging in a late all-or-nothing growth spurt toward the beginning of August. The fattened onion bulbs bulge from the soil while the tops grow brown and whither. Most of the tomato plants are bearing fruit, albeit still green. The lettuce continues to grow but is slowly going to seed.
Yes, there are still many hot summer days ahead. Yet, I would argue that half of summer is already behind us and that people who take their summer holidays in mid-August are vacationing in early autumn despite all appearances to the contrary.
The winter solstice as the middle of winter is an easier sell, particularly in northern countries where the days grow noticeably shorter, and the weather tends to turn for the worse after the Autumn Equinox in September.
Although November is still “officially” autumn, people tend to regard it as a winter month, especially when the cold rains or first snowfalls arrive.
By the time we get Christmas, we feel as if we have been in winter for a while, and very few people I know have ever declared the winter equinox or Christmas to be the beginning of winter.
Perhaps there is something primordial ingrained into our consciousness, with some being more intrigued or sensitive to the movements of the earth around the sun and the lengthening or shortening of daylight hours.
Today is the longest day of the year, with Midsummer’s Day a scant four days away. Though it will strike most as peculiar, when it comes to the idea of midsummer, I agree with Dr. Charlton’s assessment that the summer solstice/Midsummer Day marks the middle of the summer rather than its beginning.
My garden provides ample “evidence” that this is indeed the case. The early blooming flowers have all withered away, while the later blossoming ones are now in full bloom. Though quite lush and green, the grass hints that it will soon take a break and dry out before engaging in a late all-or-nothing growth spurt toward the beginning of August. The fattened onion bulbs bulge from the soil while the tops grow brown and whither. Most of the tomato plants are bearing fruit, albeit still green. The lettuce continues to grow but is slowly going to seed.
Yes, there are still many hot summer days ahead. Yet, I would argue that half of summer is already behind us and that people who take their summer holidays in mid-August are vacationing in early autumn despite all appearances to the contrary.
The winter solstice as the middle of winter is an easier sell, particularly in northern countries where the days grow noticeably shorter, and the weather tends to turn for the worse after the Autumn Equinox in September.
Although November is still “officially” autumn, people tend to regard it as a winter month, especially when the cold rains or first snowfalls arrive.
By the time we get Christmas, we feel as if we have been in winter for a while, and very few people I know have ever declared the winter equinox or Christmas to be the beginning of winter.
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