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conuly
I am so so sooo sick of hearing "the groundhog saw his shadow! It's going to be a long winter!", and NOT just because it's an idiotic superstition. Let's examine this superstition.
The groundhog sees his shadow: six more weeks of winter... In 42 days, it will be about March 16th. A few days after that is the vernal equinox.
The groundhog doesn't see his shadow: six more weeks till spring... In 42 days, it will STILL be about March 16th. Six weeks doesn't change depending on shadowspotting. And a few days after that, it will STILL be the vernal equinox.
IT'S A SCAM! STOP LISTENING TO THAT CRAP!
I also have a question: Why did we ever start calling "midwinter" and "midsummer" the start of winter and summer? I think the older system made more sense. The longest day of winter/summer should, logically, occur in the middle, with a brief period of "getting darker" and "getting lighter" surrounding the solstice. That is, I believe, the way it used to be, with what we now call the midpoints (if we think about them at all) being the start of the seasons.
The groundhog sees his shadow: six more weeks of winter... In 42 days, it will be about March 16th. A few days after that is the vernal equinox.
The groundhog doesn't see his shadow: six more weeks till spring... In 42 days, it will STILL be about March 16th. Six weeks doesn't change depending on shadowspotting. And a few days after that, it will STILL be the vernal equinox.
IT'S A SCAM! STOP LISTENING TO THAT CRAP!
I also have a question: Why did we ever start calling "midwinter" and "midsummer" the start of winter and summer? I think the older system made more sense. The longest day of winter/summer should, logically, occur in the middle, with a brief period of "getting darker" and "getting lighter" surrounding the solstice. That is, I believe, the way it used to be, with what we now call the midpoints (if we think about them at all) being the start of the seasons.
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no subject
Date: 2004-02-03 09:11 am (UTC)::blinks:: I had no idea that people were doing that. It makes absolutely no sense to call them that; in my head, midwinter and midsummer have always been the equinox and solstice respectively.
I guess we shouldn't really be surprised. Sometimes I think that the more we know, the less we really understand.
no subject
Date: 2004-02-03 10:33 am (UTC)It actually depends on whether the variation in temperature or the variation in day length is more noticeable to the society you're in (http://www.polaris.iastate.edu/NorthStar/Unit5/unit5_sub3.htm). To Pagan cultures in the higher latitudes, the night when the sun never sets or the day when the sun doesn't rise was the obvious midpoint of the seasonal cycle. The Winter Solstice was "Midwinter." In the mid-latitudes, the difference in temperature and growing seasons may have affected people's lives more than the difference in day length.
Now, with artificial light, the length of the day is almost irrelevant to American society with its 24-hour Wal-Marts and 7-11's, but the temperature is vital to agribusiness, commerce, and just you and me wondering when we need to make sure the car's coolant has enough antifreeze or the air conditioner's Freon is topped up. The weather lags the astronomical dividing points (http://www.usatoday.com/weather/resources/askjack/wfaqsson.htm) by about a month and a half, so the coldest period of the year generally begins at the winter solstice and ends at the vernal equinox -- so that's the period we call winter.
Meteorologists have still another definition (http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2003/s2143.htm) -- they measure seasons in whole months. Winter is December, January and February; spring is March, April and May, and so on through the year.
It actually all makes sense when you think about it. :-)
Re:
Date: 2004-02-03 02:35 pm (UTC)Re:
Date: 2004-02-03 07:54 pm (UTC)*huggrins* Always cool to get some new information, though.
no subject
Date: 2004-02-03 01:27 pm (UTC)Well duh.
no subject
Date: 2004-02-03 02:58 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-02-03 04:08 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-02-03 09:11 am (UTC)::blinks:: I had no idea that people were doing that. It makes absolutely no sense to call them that; in my head, midwinter and midsummer have always been the equinox and solstice respectively.
I guess we shouldn't really be surprised. Sometimes I think that the more we know, the less we really understand.
no subject
Date: 2004-02-03 10:33 am (UTC)It actually depends on whether the variation in temperature or the variation in day length is more noticeable to the society you're in (http://www.polaris.iastate.edu/NorthStar/Unit5/unit5_sub3.htm). To Pagan cultures in the higher latitudes, the night when the sun never sets or the day when the sun doesn't rise was the obvious midpoint of the seasonal cycle. The Winter Solstice was "Midwinter." In the mid-latitudes, the difference in temperature and growing seasons may have affected people's lives more than the difference in day length.
Now, with artificial light, the length of the day is almost irrelevant to American society with its 24-hour Wal-Marts and 7-11's, but the temperature is vital to agribusiness, commerce, and just you and me wondering when we need to make sure the car's coolant has enough antifreeze or the air conditioner's Freon is topped up. The weather lags the astronomical dividing points (http://www.usatoday.com/weather/resources/askjack/wfaqsson.htm) by about a month and a half, so the coldest period of the year generally begins at the winter solstice and ends at the vernal equinox -- so that's the period we call winter.
Meteorologists have still another definition (http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2003/s2143.htm) -- they measure seasons in whole months. Winter is December, January and February; spring is March, April and May, and so on through the year.
It actually all makes sense when you think about it. :-)
Re:
Date: 2004-02-03 02:35 pm (UTC)Re:
Date: 2004-02-03 07:54 pm (UTC)*huggrins* Always cool to get some new information, though.
no subject
Date: 2004-02-03 01:27 pm (UTC)Well duh.
no subject
Date: 2004-02-03 02:58 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-02-03 04:08 pm (UTC)