Season
From the Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia that anyone can change
A season is a part of the year. In most parts of the world we say there are four seasons in a year: spring, summer, autumn (British English) or fall (US English), and winter. In some countries people say there are a different number of seasons; for example, some people in Australia's Northern Territory use six seasons.
In places which are tropical and subtropical people more often speak about the rainy (or wet, or monsoon) season and the dry season. This is because the rain changes more than the temperature.
We have seasons because the part of the Earth which is tilted towards the Sun changes, as the Earth goes round the Sun. The Earth goes round the Sun in its orbit but it also goes round itself. At any time, in any season, the northern and southern hemispheres (halves of the Earth) have opposite seasons.
| Spring | Winter | ||
| The Seasons |
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| Summer | Autumn | ||
[change] Dates
The date at which each season begins is different in different countries. In the United States, people say the seasons begin at the solstices and equinoxes. The summer solstice is the longest day of the year, and the winter solstice is the shortest. The equinox is the time when the day and the night are the same number of hours. So in the USA, summer begins at summer solstice, winter at winter solstice, spring at the spring (vernal) equinox and autumn at the autumnal equinox.
In Britain, people traditionally say that the seasons begin about seven weeks earlier: spring begins on Candlemas (February 2), summer on May Day (May 1), autumn on Lammas (August 1), and winter on All Hallows (November 1). The Irish calendar is similar, but Spring begins on February 1.
In Denmark, spring begins on March 1, summer on June 1, autumn on September 1 and winter on December 1. In Australia, summer begins on December 1, autumn on March 1, winter on June 1, and spring on September 1.
In the Chinese calendar, the solstices and equinoxes are in the middle of each season.
