Seasons
Item No. 12
“How can we specify how beautiful it is to experience the season's change?”The weather and daylight demarcate the seasons we are familiar with. The seasons partitioned into four divisions—spring, summer, autumn, and winter. The earth’s pattern of rotation and its relationship with the sun—its yearlong dance in the light of that distant star has determined for generations the expectations of the light and heat and weather expected at particular times and intervals of the Gregorian calendar. The Japanese have actually partitioned these even further into 72 seasons or or kō, representing the smaller changes in nature. Each micro-season represents about five days. For example, “East wind melts the ice: February 4-8. Rainwater: February 19-23. Insects awaken: March 6-10. Spring equinox: March 21-25. Pure and clear: April 5-9. Grain rains: April 20-24.” The thing is that we know the seasons appear to be shifting, so our standard rule of thumb, our plan and our feel of the days and the months must quietly shift too. In the Northern Hemisphere the length and temperatures of seasons might change—summer lengthening, with spring, autumn and winter shortening, about 17 days already it seems over the last half century. But that’s not it. The seasons themselves might feel different too, not only longer, but they might feel warmer.
Ice. Intervals. Periods of transition. In many places, cultural rituals relate directly to the seasonal changes. Rituals to mark the beginning of spring, or the dark winter days. Celebrations or harvests, festivals, and other unique traditions hold us steady as we pass through the passing of the years. Certain festivals with certain seasonal needs might need to change. Ice-festivals, for example, in warmer winter months. (It is hard to have an ice-festival without ice.) This translates to how we gather and what we gather for. This presents us with an opportunity to seek new experiences and symbols; and/or implores us to savor our seasons as they are and perhaps also to save them.
Other specifications:
How can we specify how beautiful it is to experience the season's change?