I've been thinking again over the last few days about the seasons.
It is accepted by the majority of people that summer begins at the Summer Solstice, autumn at the Autumnal Equinox, winter at the Winter Solstice and spring at the Vernal Equinox. So in the UK we have the BBC running their Autumn Watch programme in November and their Spring Watch programme in May.
We seem to base these seasons more on whether we expect the weather to be warm or cold than anything else. Yet there is an older perception of the seasons which survive in the expressions Midsummer and Midwinter. These clearly refer to the longest and shortest days of the year respectively. So the start of winter is also midwinter?
The major pointers are what pagans refer to as the Fire Festivals - Candlemas, Mayday, Lammas and Hallowe'en. These occur roughly three months apart and also midway between the equinox/solstice dates. These then, surely, are the real beginning of the seasons. Therefore, cold though it may be, we are now entering into Spring.
I was out in the garden at the weekend and was delighted to see some bulbs that we put in last year poking their heads through the soil. Even better, all along the hedgerow there is a mass of green buds, ready to burst into leaf as soon as the conditions are right.
It seems to me that things are definitely Springing!
