About

From an astronomical view, the equinoxes and solstices would be the middle of the respective seasons, but sometimes astronomical summer is defined as starting at the solstice, the time of maximal insolation, often identified with 21 June or 21 December. By solar reckoning, summer instead starts on May Day and the summer solstice is Midsummer. A variable seasonal lag means that the meteorological centre of the season, which is based on average temperature patterns, occurs several weeks after the time of maximal insolation.

The meteorological convention defines summer as comprising the months of June, July, and August in the northern hemisphere and the months of December, January, and February in the southern hemisphere. Under meteorological definitions, all seasons are arbitrarily set to start at the beginning of a calendar month and end at the end of a month. This meteorological definition of summer also aligns with the commonly viewed notion of summer as the season with the longest (and warmest) days of the year, in which daylight predominates.

The meteorological reckoning of seasons is used in countries including Australia, New Zealand, Austria, Denmark, Russia and Japan. It is also used by many people in the United Kingdom and Canada. In Ireland, the summer months according to the national meteorological service, Met Éireann, are June, July and August. By the Irish calendar, summer begins on 1 May (Beltane) and ends on 31 July (Lughnasadh).

Days continue to lengthen from equinox to solstice and summer days progressively shorten after the solstice, so meteorological summer encompasses the build-up to the longest day and a diminishing thereafter, with summer having many more hours of daylight than spring. Reckoning by hours of daylight alone, summer solstice marks the midpoint, not the beginning, of the seasons. Midsummer takes place over the shortest night of the year, which is the summer solstice, or on a nearby date that varies with tradition.

Where a seasonal lag of half a season or more is common, reckoning based on astronomical markers is shifted half a season. By this method, in North America, summer is the period from the summer solstice (usually 20 or 21 June in the Northern Hemisphere) to the autumn equinox.

Reckoning by cultural festivals, the summer season in the United States is traditionally regarded as beginning on Memorial Day weekend (the last weekend in May) and ending on Labor Day (the first Monday in September), more closely in line with the meteorological definition for the parts of the country that have four-season weather. The similar Canadian tradition starts summer on Victoria Day one week prior (although summer conditions vary widely across Canada's expansive territory) and ends, as in the United States, on Labour Day.

In some Southern Hemisphere countries such as Brazil, Argentina, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand, summer is associated with the Christmas and New Year holidays. Many families take extended holidays for two or three weeks or longer during summer.

In Australia and New Zealand, summer begins on 1 December and ends on 28 February (29 February in leap years).

In Chinese astronomy, summer starts on or around 5 May, with the jiéqì (solar term) known as lìxià (立夏), i.e. "establishment of summer". Summer ends around 7 August, with the solar term of lìqiū (立秋, "establishment of autumn").

In southern and southeast Asia, where the monsoon occurs, summer is more generally defined as lasting from March, April, May and June, the warmest time of the year, ending with the onset of the monsoon rains.

Because the temperature lag is shorter in the oceanic temperate southern hemisphere, most countries in this region use the meteorological definition with summer starting on 1 December and ending on the last day of February.

Summer is traditionally associated with hot or warm weather. In Mediterranean climates, it is also associated with dry weather, while in other places (particularly in Eastern Asia because of the monsoon) it is associated with rainy weather. The wet season is the main period of vegetation growth within the savanna climate regime. Where the wet season is associated with a seasonal shift in the prevailing winds, it is known as a monsoon.

In the northern Atlantic Ocean, a distinct tropical cyclone season occurs from 1 June to 30 November. The statistical peak of the Atlantic hurricane season is 10 September. The Northeast Pacific Ocean has a broader period of activity, but in a similar timeframe to the Atlantic. The Northwest Pacific sees tropical cyclones year-round, with a minimum in February and March and a peak in early September. In the North Indian basin, storms are most common from April to December, with peaks in May and November. In the Southern Hemisphere, the tropical cyclone season runs from the start of November until the end of April with peaks in mid-February to early March.

Thunderstorm season in the United States and Canada runs in the spring through summer but sometimes can run as late as October or even November in the fall. These storms can produce hail, strong winds and tornadoes, usually during the afternoon and evening.

School breaks

Schools and universities typically have a summer break to take advantage of the warmer weather and longer days. In almost all countries, children are out of school during this time of year for summer break, although dates vary. Many families will take holidays for a week or two over the summer, particularly in Southern Hemisphere Western countries with statutory Christmas and New Year holidays.

In the United States, public schools usually end in late May in Memorial Day weekend, while colleges finish in early May. Public school traditionally resumes near Labor Day, while higher institutions often resume in mid-August.

In England and Wales, school ends in mid-July and resumes again in early September. In Scotland, the summer holiday begins in late June and ends in mid-to-late August. Similarly, in Canada the summer holiday starts on the last or second-last Friday in June and ends in late August or on the first Tuesday of September, with the exception of when that date falls before Labour Day, in which case, ends on the second Tuesday of the month. In Russia, the summer holiday begins at the end of May and ends on 31 August.

In the Southern Hemisphere, school summer holiday dates include the major holidays of Christmas and New Year's Day. School summer holidays in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa begin in early December and end in early February, with dates varying between states. In South Africa, the new school year usually starts during the second week of January, thus aligning the academic year with the Calendar year. In India, school ends in late April and resumes in early or mid-June. In Cameroon and Nigeria, schools usually start a summer vacation in mid-July and resume in the later weeks of September or the first week of October.

Public holidays

A wide range of public holidays fall during summer, including:

Northern Hemisphere

• Bank holidays in the United Kingdom and Ireland
• Bastille Day, National Day of France (14 July)
• Belgian National Day (21 July)
• Canada Day (1 July)
• Festa della Repubblica, Italian national day and republic day (2 June)
• Independence Day (Jordan) (25 May)
• Independence Day (Pakistan) (14 August)
• Independence Day (India) (15 August)
• Independence Day (Indonesia) (17 August)
• Independence Day (Malaysia) (31 August)
• Independence Day (United States) (4 July)
• Juneteenth (United States) (19 June)
• King's Official Birthday (United Kingdom and some Commonwealth countries) (third Saturday in June)
• Memorial Day (United States) or Victoria Day (Canada) through Labor Day
• National Day of Singapore (9 August)
• National Day of Sweden (6 June) and Midsummer, sometimes referred to as the "alternative National Day"
• Ólavsøka, Faroe Islands (29 July)
• Swiss National Day (1 August)
• Victory Day (Turkey) (30 August)

Southern Hemisphere

• Australia Day (26 January)
• Christmas Day (25 December) and Boxing Day (26 December) in many countries
• New Year's Day (1 January) and the following day (2 January) in many countries
• Waitangi Day (6 February) In New Zealand

People generally take advantage of the high temperatures by spending more time outdoors during summer. Activities such as travelling to the beach and picnics occur during the summer months. Sports including cricket, association football (soccer), horse racing, basketball, American football, volleyball, skateboarding, baseball, softball, tennis and golf are played.

Water sports also occur. These include water skiing, wakeboarding, swimming, surfing, tubing and water polo. The modern Olympics have been held during the summer months every four years since 1896. The 2000 Summer Olympics, in Sydney, were held in spring and the 2016 Summer Olympics, in Rio de Janeiro, were held in winter.

In the United States, many television shows made for children are released during the summer, as children are off school.

Conversely, the music and film industries generally experience higher returns during the summer than other times of the year and market their summer hits accordingly. Summer is popular for animated movies to be released theatrically in movie theaters.

With many schools closed, especially in Western countries, travel and vacationing tend to peak during the summer. Teenagers and university students often take summer jobs, and business activity for the recreation, tourism, restaurant, and retail industries reach their peak.

Meteorological reckoning is the method of measuring the winter season used by meteorologists based on "sensible weather patterns" for record keeping purposes, so the start of meteorological winter varies with latitude. Winter is often defined by meteorologists to be the three calendar months with the lowest average temperatures. This corresponds to the months of December, January and February in the Northern Hemisphere, and June, July and August in the Southern Hemisphere.

The coldest average temperatures of the season are typically experienced in January or February in the Northern Hemisphere and in June, July or August in the Southern Hemisphere. Nighttime predominates in the winter season, and in some regions, winter has the highest rate of precipitation as well as prolonged dampness because of permanent snow cover or high precipitation rates coupled with low temperatures, precluding evaporation. Blizzards often develop and cause many transportation delays. Diamond dust, also known as ice needles or ice crystals, forms at temperatures approaching −40 °C (−40 °F) due to air with slightly higher moisture from above mixing with colder, surface-based air. They are made of simple hexagonal ice crystals.

The Swedish Meteorological Institute (SMHI) defines thermal winter as when the daily mean temperatures are below 0 °C (32 °F) for five consecutive days. According to the SMHI, winter in Scandinavia is more pronounced when Atlantic low-pressure systems take more southerly and northerly routes, leaving the path open for high-pressure systems to come in and cold temperatures to occur. As a result, the coldest January on record in Stockholm, in 1987, was also the sunniest.

Accumulations of snow and ice are commonly associated with winter in the Northern Hemisphere, due to the large land masses there. In the Southern Hemisphere, the more maritime climate and the relative lack of land south of 40°S make the winters milder; thus, snow and ice are less common in inhabited regions of the Southern Hemisphere. In this region, snow occurs every year in elevated regions such as the Andes, the Great Dividing Range in Australia, and the mountains of New Zealand, and also in the southerly Patagonia region of South Argentina. Snow occurs year-round in Antarctica.

In the Northern Hemisphere, some authorities define the period of winter based on astronomical fixed points (i.e., based solely on the position of the Earth in its orbit around the Sun), regardless of weather conditions. In one version of this definition, winter begins at the winter solstice and ends at the March equinox. These dates are somewhat later than those used to define the beginning and end of the meteorological winter — usually considered to span the entirety of December, January, and February in the Northern Hemisphere and June, July, and August in the Southern.

Astronomically, the winter solstice — being the day of the year that has fewest hours of daylight — ought to be in the middle of the season, but seasonal lag means that the coldest period normally follows the solstice by a few weeks. In some cultures, the season is regarded as beginning at the solstice and ending on the following equinox. In the Northern Hemisphere, depending on the year, this corresponds to the period between 20, 21 or 22 December and 19, 20 or 21 March.

In an old Norwegian tradition, winter begins on 14 October and ends on the last day of February.

In many countries in the Southern Hemisphere, including Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa, winter begins on 1 June and ends on 31 August.

In Celtic nations such as Ireland (using the Irish calendar) and in Scandinavia, the winter solstice is traditionally considered as midwinter, with the winter season beginning 1 November, on All Hallows, or Samhain.[citation needed] Winter ends and spring begins on Imbolc, or Candlemas, which is 1 or 2 February. In Chinese astronomy and other East Asian calendars, winter is taken to commence on or around 7 November, on Lìdōng, and end with the arrival of spring on 3 or 4 February, on Lìchūn. Late Roman Republic scholar Marcus Terentius Varro defined winter as lasting from the fourth day before the Ides of November (10 November) to the eighth day before the Ides of Februarius (6 February).

This system of seasons is based on the length of days exclusively. The three-month period of the shortest days and weakest solar radiation occurs during November, December and January in the Northern Hemisphere and May, June and July in the Southern Hemisphere.

Many mainland European countries tended to recognize Martinmas or St. Martin's Day (11 November) as the first calendar day of winter. The day falls at the midpoint between the old Julian equinox and solstice dates. Also, Valentine's Day (14 February) is recognized by some countries as heralding the first rites of spring, such as flowers blooming.

The three-month period associated with the coldest average temperatures typically begins somewhere in late November or early December in the Northern Hemisphere and lasts through late February or early March. This "thermological winter" is earlier than the solstice delimited definition, but later than the daylight (Celtic or Chinese) definition. Depending on seasonal lag, this period will vary between climatic regions.

Since by almost all definitions valid for the Northern Hemisphere, winter spans 31 December and 1 January, the season is split across years, just like summer in the Southern Hemisphere. Each calendar year includes parts of two winters. This causes ambiguity in associating a winter with a particular year, e.g. "Winter 2018". Solutions for this problem include naming both years, e.g. "Winter 18/19", or settling on the year the season starts in or on the year most of its days belong to, which is the later year for most definitions.

The winter season is characterized by cold temperatures, short days, and often precipitation in many regions of the world. The exact weather patterns can vary greatly depending on the latitude, altitude, and ocean currents, but there can be found some common ground.

In general in winter, the sun is at a lower angle in the sky and there is less daylight, which results in lower temperatures. The average temperature in the northern hemisphere can range from 20°F to 40°F (-7°C to 4°C), while in the southern hemisphere it can range from 50°F to 70°F (10°C to 21°C). Precipitation in winter can come in the form of snow, sleet, freezing rain, or rain. In areas with lower temperatures, snow is the most common form of precipitation, while in areas with milder temperatures, rain may still be possible. In many regions, winter winds can be strong and gusty, contributing to the feeling of cold. These winds can be especially strong along coastal areas, where cold air masses meet the warm ocean water. In the winter, low pressure systems can bring significant precipitation, such as snowstorms and blizzards. These low pressure systems can form over oceans and move inland, causing widespread precipitation and strong winds. In the northern hemisphere, cold air masses from the Arctic can plunge into lower latitudes, causing a sharp drop in temperature and snowfall. These air masses can persist for several days, bringing cold temperatures and snow to affected areas.

There are a lot of celebrations and holiday cheer in winter. The following list doesn’t come close to covering all of the winter holidays celebrated around the world, since there are quite a few more holiday occasions not mentioned (such as Boxing Day, Omisoka, St. Lucia Day, St. Nicholas Day, Ramadan, etc), but it can give you a good sense of the winter spirit covering the globe!

Hanukkah

• A Jewish holiday honoring the Maccabee’s victory over King Antiochus in 165 B.C., a victory seen as a miracle of God.
• Hanukkah is celebrated for eight nights with prayer, the lighting of the menorah, food, games, sing-a-longs, and gift exchanges.
• The dates of Hanukkah change due to the lunar cycle but typically occur in late November or early December.

Christmas

• A Christian holiday that celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ.
• Traditions around the world include decorating a tree with lights and ornaments, hanging mistletoe, attending church services on Christmas Eve, and waiting for Santa Clause to arrive from the North Pole in time for Christmas morning (December 25th).

Kwanzaa

• Commemorates African heritage, during which family and friends gather to exchange gifts and light a series of candles.
• The candles symbolize the basic values of African American family life: unity, self-determination, collective work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity, and faith.
• Kwanzaa occurs from December 26th through January 1st.

New Years Day

• Takes place on January 1st each year.
• The count down starts the night before and often fireworks are on display as the clock strikes midnight on the first day of the new year in the Gregorian calendar.
• Black-eyed peas, collard greens and pork are commonly served on New Years Day in the southern United States.
• Black-eyed peas are thought to bring luck and prosperity for the new year. Greens are considered a sign of wealth for the new year. Pork is a symbol of moving forward.

Epiphany, or Three Kings Day

• Celebrated as the day the three wise men first see Jesus, bringing him their gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
• This celebration occurs in many different ways 12 days after Christmas. Examples include:
  • In Puerto Rico, children leave a box with hay under their beds at night so the kings will leave presents.
  • In France, kings’ cakes have hidden toys, jewels, or coins inside. The person who finds the trinket in their cake gets to wear a crown.

Chinese New Year

• Considered the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays.
• This holiday falls between January 21st and February 20th.
• Family and friends celebrate together during this time to usher out the old year and bring forth the luck and prosperity of the new year.
• Legend has it that thousands of years ago, a monster named Nian would attack villages at the beginning of each year. Loud noises, bright lights, and the color red scare the monster away. Today, the celebration uses fireworks, red clothes, and red decorations.

Las Posadas

• Primarily celebrated in Mexico, Guatemala, and parts of the southwestern United States, Las Posadas is a 9-day celebration.
• During this celebration, a procession of people moves from home to home with a candle inside a paper lamp, stopping at each home to sing and pray.
• Eventually, the procession ends but the celebration continues with more singing, delicious food, and the breaking of a piñata.

Eid-ul-Adha

• Celebrated worldwide in honor of the willingness of the prophet Abraham to sacrifice his first-born at God’s command.
• Celebrated near the end of the calendar year but dates vary based on the Islamic lunar calendar.
• Families gather together in a large congregation, dressed in their finest, and sacrifice their best halal domestic animals as a symbol of Abraham’s sacrifice. Friends, neighbors, and the poor share the meat to ensure no one goes without during the holiday feast.

Diwali

• A five-day Hindu festival and official holiday in India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Myanmar.
• Diwali celebrates the attainment of nirvana by Mahavira (an Indian Sage), as well as the death of Swami Dayanand (a Hindu religious leader).
• The holiday involves the lighting of small clay lamps to symbolize the victory of good over evil.

Winter has a plethora of fun activities, many of which can be enjoyed either alone or with friends and family. Whether you enjoy outdoor activities or indoor ones, winter has you covered.

In the winter you can enjoy building a snowman, sledding, and ice skating, all of which can be done with or without friends. Snowball fights are a classic winter activity, and are some of my favorite backyard winter memories.

If you’re looking for something more relaxed, winter also has you covered. Getting cozy by a fire or under a blanket and cracking open a book can be the perfect thing on a gloomy day. Watching a movie on a particularly harsh winter day is also a great pastime, both alone or with others. Winter also is the perfect time to drink hot cocoa, one of the coziest drinks that warm your whole body on a cold day. While any of the indoor activities could be done anytime of the year, the feeling of doing them while it’s wintertime is truly something special.

So while winter does have its downfalls, the benefits that come with winter greatly outweigh the negatives, especially when compared to the negatives of other seasons.