Alex Heney wrote:
On Wed, 15 Nov 2006 08:25:31 -0500, VtSkier wrote:
Alex Heney wrote:
On Tue, 14 Nov 2006 11:05:28 -0500, Walt wrote:

I think Autumn skiing is great. The first day of winter is Dec 21...

But officially, that is midwinter's day.

Well that depends. Meteorologically it may be midwinter's day but
officially it is the first day of winter being the solstice.

Nah, it is the "officially" I would dispute.

The "official" definition of the beginning of winter depends on who the
official is:

"Astronomically, winter starts with the winter solstice , and ends with
the spring equinox. In meteorology, it is by convention counted instead
as the whole months of December, January and February in the Northern
Hemisphere.

However, in the United Kingdom and Ireland the winter solstice is
traditionally considered as midwinter, the winter season beginning
November 1 on All Hallows or Samhain. Winter ends and spring begins on
Imbolc or Candlemas, which is February 1 or 2.

In Chinese astronomy , winter is taken to commence on or around November 7."

Personally, I'll take the Potter Stewart approach: "I know it when I
see it."


//Walt