Winter doesn’t arrive with a single knock. It announces itself in stages, marked by three distinct calendars.
First, there is the — the one of science and solstices. It begins on the winter solstice, usually December 21 or 22, when the Northern Hemisphere tilts farthest from the sun. This is winter’s technical birth: the shortest day, the longest night. It lasts until the vernal equinox in March, a tidy, celestial schedule.
So when someone asks, “When is winter?” — you have three answers. The astronomer’s, the meteorologist’s, and the one you feel in your own chilled fingertips.