First Day of Summer

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woods

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The weather lady after the one o clock news on RTE 1 TV has just stated that today is officially the first day of summer.
This is not what I have been led to believe all my life.
Is she correct.
 
woods said:
The weather lady after the one o clock news on RTE 1 TV has just stated that today is officially the first day of summer.
This is not what I have been led to believe all my life.
Is she correct.
Click to expand...
There is some confusion on this issue; RTE need Charlie Bird to make a definitive statement to clear things up.
 
woods said:
Is she correct.
Click to expand...

Yes she is absolutely correct. Always hearing this.

Think it hinges on the belief held by many that May is part of Summer which it isn't. That would make August, traditionally the hottest month in the northern hemisphere, part of Autumn ??

Summer months are June, July, August - based on general seasonal divisions.

Of course if you want to get picky you have the 'official start of British Summertime' thing which is related to daylight saving time adjustment etc
 
does anyone remember learning the seasons and the associated months in primary school:

Samhain: Bealtaine, Meitheamh agus Iuil.....?
 
does anyone remember learning the seasons and the associated monthsi in irish in primary school:

Samhain: Bealtaine, Meitheamh agus Iuil.....?
 
Myself and Mrs fm were discussing this just the other day - we were both told, as we were growing up, that Summer started in May

From Wikipedia:

The unofficial start of summer is a matter of convention: in Ireland it is as early as May 1, in many countries it is considered to be June 1, while in others it is as late as July 1.

 Further interesting info from Wikipedia:

The Irish calendar does not observe the typical astronomical seasons (beginning, in the Northern Hemisphere, on the equinoxes and solstices), or the meteorological seasons (beginning on March 1, June 1, September 1 and December 1), but rather centres the seasons around the solstices and equinoxes (so that, for instance, midsummer falls on the summer solstice), beginning the seasons at the approximate halfway points between solstice and equinox, following the seasons of the ancient Celts (see below) which are pre-Christian in origin.

So that's why we think summer starts in May - the Irish calender starts it then
 
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Well there you go - apologies woods, more complex than I had presumed. But in the spirit of 'we're all European now' I was kind of right then...?
 
Let's all agree that from now on summer starts on June 1st...this gives us a 4 month summer for 2007!!
 
Our first day of summer started at easter break when we got almost a month of sunshine, zero rain, its the irish climate,declare summer when we get a stretch of sunshine and hope thats not the end of it!
 
heard the weather man who used to be on the BBC ( Who got it completely wrong about that big storm that hit England one year) on some talk show say that weather wise seasons dont start on the 1st of a month etc and that spring started around the 20th of the month. think it was Feby which would mean that Summer starts around middle of May etc.
 
Never ceases to amaze me, with all the technology they still cant get it right. They 'predicted' sunday and monday best days for 'bloom' yet they were worse days. Thumbs up to the old folk, who looked towards nature for forecasts, invariably got it right.
 
Since June 21st is the longest day and generally known as midsummer, wouldn't summer officially start sometime around the 1st week in May?
 
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