A Sodden Solstice

[poliphilo]

I like the Google Doodle of the knitting hands but "first day of winter"? Surely not. I've never heard the solstice called that before.

Yesterday was bright and clear; today we haven't see the sun at all. Rain has fallen steadily. The Donkey House- a former stable that is now just a place where blackbirds nest- is flooded to a depth of an inch or two.  It stands on sloping ground and the water is pouring out the back wall- through gaps in the brickwork- with force enough to power a hamster-sized water wheel.

Comments

[xiphias.livejournal.com]

We have two solstices and two equinoxes. In the United States, seasons change on the solstices and equinoxes.

I think the cross-quarter days make more sense: Groundhog's Day would be the beginning of spring (even though it's still winter, which would explain the point of Groundhog's Day), summer would start at May Day, autumn at August 1, which isn't a particular non-Pagan holiday, but whatever, and winter at Halloween. So, since we in the United States make our official change on the quarter days, our OFFICIAL seasons start three months, on average, after they pretty much ACTUALLY do.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

That's crazy.

The seasons start when they please, irrespective of when we say they do.

[xiphias.livejournal.com]

And, indeed, in most of the United States, that's ACTUALLY how we think of it. Autumn starts when the leaves change. Winter starts when the leaves have all fallen, and frost and snow start. Spring starts when the flowers begin budding; summer when it gets all summery.

Even if we have these official dates, which make no sense, even if we can talk about what better choices for the official dates would be, in practice, we recognize that the seasons start when they start.