The Science Behind Seasons

Hey readers!

I apologize for going MIA for a while, the past few months have truly been so hectic and I had barely been able to catch a break. I’m so excited and relieved though, because it’s finally summer vacation!

HAPPY SUMMER BREAK!!!!!!!!! ☀️

To make an on-theme blog post to celebrate my return to the blog, I’m going to make this article about the changing of the seasons, and what inspired ancient civilians to recognize each season the way they did.

Summer for a lot of us in the 21st century means relaxing time away from school, time to get ahead on our own pursuits, to hang out with friends, travel, tan, and explore new interests. Similarly, the crisp autumn air that sweeps through the trees signifies upcoming holidays, and the first chill of winter means it’s almost time for hot cocoa and Christmas.

But our modern understanding of the seasons is shaped by centuries of observation and interpretation. Long before the advent of technology, ancient civilizations had their own clever, poetic ways of recognizing and honoring the changing of the seasons. These shifts weren’t just weather patterns and a chance to bring out new house decor or travel: for them, seasons signified survival and life.

For the ancient peoples, survival was tied directly to the land. The seasonal cycles governed everything from the food they grew to the rituals they performed. Each turn of the seasons was an opportunity to reflect on the forces of nature—forces they could understand but often couldn't fully explain. In many ways, they were the first to observe patterns in nature and ascribe meaning to them.

Take, for example, the ancient Egyptians. Their year revolved around the flooding of the Nile River, an event that occurred with remarkable regularity and precision each year. The rise and fall of the Nile wasn't just a useful marker for planting crops—it was a symbol of death and rebirth, a divine cycle tied to the goddess Isis and her husband Osiris. Ancient Egyptians thus built their calendar around the "Nile Flood" and the movement of the stars.

Each group of people around the world interpreted the changing of the seasons differently. The ancient Celts, for example, celebrated the Winter Solstice with Yule—a festival of light marking the return of the sun after its darkest days. They recognized the solstice as a time when the sun “died” and was reborn, an event tied to their mythology of rebirth and renewal. In a similar way, the ancient Romans celebrated the vernal equinox as Hilaria, a festival of joy and merriment in honor of the changing of the seasons.

In many cultures, the movement from winter to spring or summer to autumn was viewed as a cycle of life, death, and rebirth. The Greeks, for instance, associated the fall and winter with the myth of Persephone, who was taken to the underworld for half the year, leaving her mother, Demeter, to mourn and cause the earth to wither and lose its crops and sunshine. The changing of the seasons governed survival for all the humans, creatures, and plants alive in the past.

While our movement through the seasons today might not be accompanied by some rich fairytale, and might not be as significant a marker for survival, when we pause to notice the subtle changes in the world around us, we tap into the same ancient perspective that once created humanity’s understanding of time. The next time the leaves fall, the sun shines stronger than usual, a snowflake hits the ground, or bees begin to buzz around newly budded flowers, take a moment to reflect: you’re participating in the same timeless rhythm the people before you honored centuries ago.