There have never been only four seasons. Spring-Summer-Fall-Winter, so often considered the "standard" system, applies only to the mid-latitudes/temperate zones. The concept of seasons has varied dramatically from place to place and culture to culture throughout history:
The Nile dictated three major seasons in ancient Egypt:
-Season of the Inundation
-Season of the Emergence (when fertile land resurfaced)
-Season of Low Water/Harvest
In ancient Japan the year was divided into 24 seasonal stages and 72 microseasons, each lasting a few days, with names like, "mist starts to linger," "wild geese fly north," "first lotus blossoms," and "deer shed antlers"
Gulumoerrgin seasons:
Balnba (rainy season)
Dalay (monsoon season)
Mayilema (speargrass, Magpie Goose egg and knock ‘em down season)
Damibila (Barramundi and bush fruit time)
Dinidjanggama (heavy dew time)
Gurrulwa (big wind time)
Dalirrgang (build-up)
csiro.au/en/Research/En…
The Cree recognize six seasons:
Spring/Ice Break-Up: miyoskamin ᒥᔪᐢᑲᒥᐣ
Late Spring: miyoskamin ᒥᔪᐢᑲᒥᐣ
Summer: nîpin ᓃᐱᐣ
Fall: takwâkin ᑕᑳᐧᑭᐣ
Ice Freeze-Up: mikiskaw ᒥᑭᐢᑲᐤ
Winter: pipon ᐱᐳᐣ
letsfindoutpodcast.com/2018/09/26/epi…
In the Hindu calendar there are six seasons, or Ritu:
Vasanta - Spring
Grishma - Summer
Varsha - Monsoon
Sharad - Autumn
Hemant - Early Winter
Shishira - Late Winter/Prevernal
Thailand has sometimes been given three seasons:
Ruedu nao / cold season: mid October to mid February
Ruedu ron / hot season: mid February to mid May
Ruedu fon / rainy season: mid May to mid October
Similarly, many tropical areas might only recognize 2 seasons: wet and dry
One way to classify polar seasons is by the amount of light:
Summer - The Brightness - When the sun never sets
Winter - The Darkness - When the sun never rises
We could even imagine seasons from the perspective of other creatures:
Bees
-The Time of Flowers
-The Flowerless Time
Humpback whales
-The Feeding Season
-The Breeding Season
Bears
-The Season of Rousing
-The Season of Gorging
-The Season of Slumber
There's another way to think of seasons: holistically. If we zoom way out, we can see certain global rhythms: the ebb and flow of light; the bloom and wither of plants; the expansion and retreat of ice. Earth has a million seasons, or just one, depending on your perspective.
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