The tutor shares some thoughts about a topic that has long fascinated him.

The seasonal boundaries are, approximately, December 22, March 21, June 21, and September 22. To an agriculturist – which, before the industrial age, most people were – the seasons tell what you might be doing:  they mean everything.

Less talked about than the seasonal boundaries, apparently, are the cross-quarter days – the days that mark mid-season.  Those would be, approximately, February 5, May 5, August 5, and November 6.

Interestingly, perhaps as many holidays we celebrate today surround cross-quarter days as days of season change.  Around February 5 there is Groundhog Day (Feb 2) and Valentine’s Day (Feb 14).  You might say that Easter matches closely with March 21, the start of spring.  Back in the cross-quarter column, we arrive at May Day (May 1), Cinco de Mayo (May 5, Mexico), and possibly even Mother’s Day (second Sunday in May).

Perhaps surprisingly, there isn’t a holiday celebrated in North America that is connected with the start of summer.  There are national birthdays, but those might more be functions of history.  The cross-quarter day in summer – August 5 – passes quietly as well.

As the first Monday in September, Labour Day can’t be put in either column.

The next holiday still prominent in North America is Halloween – at October 31, the most famous cross-quarter holiday.  Right after it is All Saints’ Day, which people are still conscious of, even though there is less activity surrounding it.  Finally there is Christmas, the most obvious of the holidays to occur at a seasonal boundary.

Although few people today are agriculturalists, seasonal implications of that way of life continue to vibrate in our culture.

Source:

naic.edu

Jack of Oracle Tutoring by Jack and Diane, Campbell River, BC.