Although days begin to get longer after the December solstice, it is right around the beginning of February that we start getting days (in the northern hemisphere) with enough more light that we can feel the difference. This is about halfway between the winter solstice and the spring equinox. In many cultures, the beginning of February was celebrated as the beginning of spring.
I can almost feel a switch flip on in my emotional brain about this time of year, and it has to do with the light -- both the amount and the quality, as the sun moves higher in the sky. Cold days and perhaps even big snow storms can lie ahead, of course. Our heaviest snows here often come in late March. (I note that the weather forecast calls for temperatures one night next week to dip below zero [F] again.)
But we are closer to spring than we were before and, as Martha would say, it's a good thing.
2 comments:
We've had a thus far very mild winter, too. Not as many major windstorms, temps above average. I wonder what is to come. But at least there's more daylight hours!
Late comment (but I don't suppose you will object). For those of us who suffer from SAD, the return of light at 7.00 am is an absolute blessing. If it were an ideal world, I would take off for Hawaii on November 15 and not return until February 15 - four months of light and warmth.
W. F.
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