Midwinter !!! .. Midsummer !!!

[Landsurfer]

Is it only me ?
I have read another article by a learned person in the Grauniad banging on about Midwinter being in December and Midsummer being in June and all the fantastic ancient cultures that built massive machines to foretell these times ....
One small problem .... 21st December is not Midwinter ... it's the first day of winter !
21st of June is not Midsummer ... it's the first day of summer !!


"Summer 2020 in Northern Hemisphere will begin on
Saturday 20 June and ends on Tuesday 22 September
All dates are in United Kingdom Time."

So therefore Midsummer is halfway between these dates ??

"Winter 2019 in Northern Hemisphere began on Sunday 22 December
and ends on Friday 20 March 2020
All dates are in United Kingdom Time."

So therefore Midwinter is halfway between these dates ??

Anyone disagree ????

 

[newfhouse]

Anyone disagree ????

https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/news/meteorological-versus-astronomical-seasons

 

[Landsurfer]

Yes i tend to use this criteria as well but it still does not put the midwinter on the 21st - 22nd December and likewise for June ...

 

[Beebo]

They are the shortest and longest days of the year.
A turning point towards the other extreme.

 

[Landsurfer]

Absolutely Right Beebo..... so why do the press and others insist on referring to them as Midwinter and Midsummer when they are patently Not !!!

 

[sleuthey]

I have always ignored the whole 21st if the month thing and gone by the Meteorological definition. IE. 1 Dec is first day of winter, 1 Mar for spring and so on. It seems to fit better with the temperature. So for me, mid winter is 15 Jan.

https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/learn-about/weather/seasons/winter/when-does-winter-start

 

[Venod]

If you ignore the standard definition of the seasons and split the year in two with just two seasons then they are mid winter and mid summer, it's just some of the colder and some of the warmer days come at the end of the two seasons.

 

[Slick]

I've never actually paid any attention to anyone regarding this as mid-winter, as it's clearly not. I do pay careful attention to the date, as it's a throwback to a time when I worked outside everyday and the available hours of daylight was everything to me. So much so that the longest day was always a downer for me and the shortest was always cause for celebration. Now it doesn't matter at all how many hours of daylight there are, but I still get the same downer and elation feeling when we hit either.

 

[Racing roadkill]

I work silly hours, I see times of the day twice, which isn’t good. I see the longest day as mid summer, and the shortest day as mid winter, because I’m up and about to see the days lengths changing.

 

[Moon bunny]

Scientists, whether meteorological or astronomical, do not decide when the seasons start or finish, mother nature does.

 

[twentysix by twentyfive]

Scientists, whether meteorological or astronomical, do not decide when the seasons start or finish, mother nature does.

In my house it's Mrs 26