My Regular Pagan Holiday Post: Samhain, November 1
When does winter begin?
Is it October, when we pick the last tomatoes to let them ripen indoors?
November 1, Samhain, when daylight thins and the world folds in on itself?
December 1, when the record-keepers say it does?
Or December 21, when the Earth leans furthest from the sun?
There are many ways to mark the turning.
The Astronomers’ Winter
Astronomical winter begins with the solstice, that celestial pause when the sun halts its slow descent and begins its long climb back toward spring.
It happens around December 21, though never on exactly the same day—
Earth wobbles a little in its orbit, as if uncertain.
The Meteorologists’ Winter
The meteorologists keep tidier books.
For them, winter starts on December 1 and ends with February—
three even months of cold data,
meant for graphs and records.
The Ecologists’ Winter
Ecologists, meanwhile, listen to the ground.
They call this time hibernal—the season of rest.
Their calendar has six seasons, each following the pulse of life itself:
Prevernal – the first stirring, buds swelling, birds returning
Vernal – full spring, leafing and nesting
Estival – the height of summer
Serotinal – late summer’s slow ripening
Autumnal – the fall of leaves and the long migration
Hibernal – the stillness of sleep
The Gardener’s Winter
Gardeners go by the Persephone Period. It starts when there are less than ten hours of daylight in a day, causing plant growth to slow down or stop. Employed to plan crops, insuring plants have time to get a head start before winter harvesting or overwintering.
Other Ways of Knowing
Elsewhere, the world names winter differently.
In the Hindu and Bengali calendars, there is Hemanta, the cooling air,
and Shishira, the deep chill that follows.
The Noongar people of Western Australia read their six seasons
in wind, rain, and blooming trees—
a rhythm that moves with the land, not the clock.
The Cree of the far north know six seasons as well:
the breaking and freezing of ice,
the coming and going of warmth.
And pagans, watchers of the sun’s dance,
divide the year into eight—
by solstices, equinoxes, and the cross quarter days between.
The Truest Beginning
So when does winter begin?
Perhaps it starts in a feeling—
the first evening you reach for a blanket
and feel the world grow still.
Winter begins when the Earth draws inward—
and so do we.
Photos are mine taken in open spaces near my home
tradeswomn musings 