The Changing of The Seasons
On Wednesday March 20th a major (if largely unnoticed) global change took place. This change was not political, nor was it economic, artistic or unusual in any way. It was simply the change of the seasons. March 20th was the date of the 2024 southern hemisphere autumn equinox, the time at which the length of the day precisely equals the length of the night.
In some countries and cultures, the autumn equinox (or Harvest Moon) is a time for celebration and thanksgiving for the abundance of life and nature’s giving through the summer months. A retrospective appreciation for what we have had.
An alternative prospective and more foreboding view of the same day is that it represents the commencement of the colder times. The nights are closing in!
Regardless of which way you view it, the reality is that because the earth is inclined on its axis by 23.5 degrees, we experience changing seasons. From March 20th right through until the spring equinox on September 23rd the hours of darkness in the southern hemisphere will exceed the hours of light. The days, which have already (but so far less noticeably) been getting progressively shorter since December 22nd last year, will continue to get shorter and shorter until we reach the winter solstice on June 22nd. That date marks the nadir of our declining daylight hours, and from that point things will (at least in climatological terms) start to get brighter.
We can’t change this annual round of seasonal variation, but human nature is such that this inevitability does not stop all of us, from time to time, grumbling about the weather!
In New Zealand we are, however, blessed every year with a few bright spots to which we are can look forward during the six months of looming stygian obscurity. National public holidays always seem to help us endure the colder, darker days. Easter, ANZAC Day, King’s Birthday and Matariki will all be very welcome when they arrive. At a local level there always seems always to be a good supply of cultural and artistic events available throughout the winter months, when indoor activities are more favoured than braving the cold outside. (A visit to Te Papa perhaps, or involvement in some of the Friends of Te Papa activities). More generally, people seem to find innumerable personal ways in which they can accommodate and differently enjoy the winter months even though at time they might seem interminable.
I trust you will all find enjoyable and rewarding things to occupy your time through the somewhat cooler six months to come before we once again turn the seasonal corner.