Writer's Block: It’s the first day of winter

[tabular_rasa]

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I've made no secret of the fact that for the most part I don't like winter. However, its few redeeming features are:
-Christmas.
-The magic and beauty of a fresh snowfall. (Provided one lives in a place where it snows).
-The possibility of snow days.
-The way hot, hearty food and drinks taste better in cold weather.
-Cold weather fashion, in which layers can be used creatively. (In summer, things like scarves and tights layered with socks and boots are uncomfortable and just look plain ridiculous).
-The fact that after the first day of winter,* the days only get longer.
-That winter doesn't have to feel all that wintry in some parts of the world, nor does it take place everywhere at the same time. There's always the opportunity for escape!

*Though I've never felt the solstice makes much sense as the *first* day of winter, as it feels like winter long before. But it doesn't make sense as midwinter (as it's sometimes referred to), either, as it's much closer to the beginning than the end. I feel like depending on where you live, the winter season begins anywhere between early November to early December (or early June or July :-P), and finishes between mid-February and late March (or mid-August and late September). Midwinter would be in mid-January (or mid-July), when the weather is coldest and snow most likely. It's kind of like how the hottest point of the day and coldest point of the night are not at 12:00, but around 2:00. It takes a while for the temperature to catch up with the movement of the earth.

Comments

[belovedwarrior.livejournal.com]

Winter lasts longer than March here, sadly. It still snows into the first weeks of May. But I'd say somewhere between the end of April and beginning of May is when Spring starts.

It feels odd that it's already winter. We're having unseasonably warm and dry days. By warm I mean in the 40s, but it's above freezing and that's amazing. While I want to be able to love it, I am sorely disappointed in the lack of snow for Christmas. :(

I wish that we could move Christmas to the middle of January or February. Then we have something to look forward to during the bitter cold winter months. Plus, then White Christmases aren't an issue here.

Or rather. I'd like holidays to be the same but have Spring start on Valentine's Day. It's an appropriate holiday for the beginning of Spring. I like winter, but not for so damned long (or so damned cold)!

[tabular-rasa.livejournal.com]

I wish that we could move Christmas to the middle of January or February. Then we have something to look forward to during the bitter cold winter months. Plus, then White Christmases aren't an issue here.
This exactly! I think I've written about this before. Plus if Christmas were in mid-late January, more places would be able to have a white Christmas in the first place-- and places that only sometimes have a white Christmas would almost always have one. (We're about 70% likely to get one in northern Indiana, but this year we're definitely not getting one either-- it's been sleeting at worst here, mostly just cold rain).

Or rather. I'd like holidays to be the same but have Spring start on Valentine's Day.
I'm hoping this is the way it works out in LA! It didn't start feeling "wintery" (gets into 30s and 40s at night, cloudy, rainy, windy) until November, so I expect spring will start more quickly on the other end, too. Winter is easier to bear if it doesn't take up more than its share of the year. In the north it so often drags on for 4 or even 5 months . . . that's way too long!