It's now June 1st, which is the first day of summer, right? After all, it's the first day of winter in Australia, and our seasons are opposite.
But... maybe it isn't. This week I mentioned to a couple of classes 'only 3 days until summer!' and they looked baffled. No it isn't, they said. When does summer start? I asked. July, they all agreed.
...?
I asked Pete when summer starts. He said: June 21.
So, we have three different countries saying three different things. Shouldn't there be some kind of international agreement when it comes to something as basic as seasons??
Anyway, I asked my students:
"When does spring start?"
"The beginning of March."
"So... spring is... March, April, May, June...?"
"March, April, May."
"But summer starts in July...?"
"Yes, June is the rainy season."
"That's not a season."
In my kids' classes I frequently ask 'what's the season?' and then show the answer ('spring!'). I don't really know what to do there...
[Edit: Today, I asked Ryu. He said that summer starts in *late* July! And finishes at the start of September. So summer is less than two months, I asked? Yes, he said; spring and autumn are longer than summer and winter. Hmm...?]
1 comment:
Well the American view is roughly this:
Seasons OFFICIALLY start on 4 days, the equinoxes and the solstices. Thus, December 21 and June 21, and March 22 and September 22. About.
However, people will start talking about it being 'summer' by the start of June. Some schools let out all the way in mid May, so their students might start calling late May 'summer' based on the vacation. But the seasons OFFICIALLY start on those days, even though people tend to call it 'winter' as soon as December starts, and the like.
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