While our Gregorian calendar was designed to match the time it takes for the Earth to complete one orbit around the Sun, itвЂ™s not exact.В Specifically, it eliminates leap days in century years not evenly divisible by 400, such 1700, 1800, and 2100, and millennium years that are divisible by 4,000, such as 8000 andВ 12000. There are several astronomical reasons but the one thatвЂ™s easy to understand is:В The Sun doesnвЂ™t follow a humanВ calendar!

You may have noticed that the first day of spring used to be a different date when you were younger than it is today. PhotoВ Credit: NASA Why Has Date Changed for Start ofВ Seasons? As the Earth progresses through its orbit during the year, the tilt causes different parts of the Earth to be exposed to more or less sunlight, depending on whether we are tilted towards or away from theВ Sun.

Temperate regions of Earth experience four seasons because of shifting sunlight,В which is determined by how the Earth orbits the Sun and the tilt of our planetвЂ™s axis. The Old FarmerвЂ™s Almanac isВ an astronomical вЂњcalendar of the heavens,вЂќ so our book has long followed the astronomical definition of the seasons based on the Sun andВ Earth! According to this definition, each season begins on the first of a particular month and lasts for three months: Spring begins on March 1, summer on June 1, autumn on September 1, and winter on December 1.В Climate scientists and meteorologists created this definitionВ to make it easier to keep records of the weather, since the start of each meteorological season doesnвЂ™t change from year toВ year.

In contrast, the meteorological start of a season is based on the annual temperature cycle and the 12-month calendar.

A solstice is when the Sun reaches the most southerly or northerly point in the sky, while an equinox is when the Sun passes over EarthвЂ™s equator.В Because of leap years, the dates of the equinoxes and solstices can shift by a day or two over time, causing the start dates of the seasons to shift, too. More specifically, the start of each season is marked by either a solsticeВ (for winter and summer) or an equinox (for spring and autumn).

The astronomical start of aВ seasonВ is based on the position of the Earth in relation to the Sun.

Here is more explanation about howВ astronomers and meteorologists define seasonsВ differently: Subtract 3 hours for Pacific time, 2 hours for Mountain time, 1 hour for Central time, and soВ on. Note: The dates above correspond to the start of the listed seasons in the Northern Hemisphere. The First Days of theВ Seasons Seasons of 2022

The meteorological start date is based on ourВ 12-month civiil calendar as well as the annual temperatureВ cycle.

The astronomical start date is based on the position of the Sun in relation to theВ Earth.

It sounds complicated, but trust us, itвЂ™sВ not! Go get an ice cream and enjoy the day.Each season has both an astronomical start and a meteorological start. Regardless of how you spend the day, donвЂ™t be вЂњthat personвЂќ who points out that the summer solstice isnвЂ™t until June. In any event, the First Day of вЂњSummerвЂќ has practical effects, in that schools will be closed, and some businesses may also be closed or have limited hours of operation. Perhaps the superstition arose to comfort people who complained when the First Day of вЂњSummerвЂќ turned out cold and rainy. There is no hard data on how often summer and winter freezing together has led to a nice summer. This is, of course, not an exact science. Icelandic superstition dictates that it takes a cold First Day of вЂњSummerвЂќвЂ“colloquially called вЂњsummer and winter freezing togetherвЂќвЂ“for the summer to come to be a nice one.

Think this bodes well for the summer to come? Too bad, it means the opposite. Which is why even though we are only about a month into spring, as per the previous equinox, as far as Icelanders are concerned it will be вЂњsummerвЂќ tomorrow.ДЄccording to the latest weather forecast, tomorrow promises to be quite warm and either partly or mostly sunny for most of the country. While the ancient Scandinavians were very much aware of equinoxes and solstices, they likely took a more practical approach in how they partitioned the seasons of the year. This has been an official holiday in Iceland since 1971, but traces its roots back to the Old Norse tradition of dividing the year into two seasons: summer and winter. Take a look and let your friends know if you know someone looking for a site for booking tours! Are you going to Iceland in the near future? Check out all the trips you can order from us! We handpick tours from local companies that we recommend and trust 100% percent.

First day of summer