Winter - Definition and Overview

This article is about the winter season. For other uses of the term, see winter (disambiguation).

Winter is one of the four seasons of temperate zones. Astronomically, it begins with the winter solstice (around December 21 in the Northern hemisphere and June 21 in the Southern hemisphere), and ends with the spring equinox (around March 21 in the Northern hemisphere and September 21 in the Southern hemisphere). In meteorology it is by convention counted instead as the whole months of June, July and August in the Southern hemisphere and December, January and February in the Northern hemisphere. Some cultures also count this way for instance in the Irish Calendar.

See List of winter festivals.

List of First Days of Winter since 2004

• 2004 - December 21

See also

• Season
• Summer
• Autumn
• Spring