Do we 'celebrate' the beginning of the seasons on the wrong days?

The traditional first day of summer is around June 21, the 'longest day' of the year...but that ought to be the MIDDLE of summer, being the high point of the curve...

The traditional first day of winter is around December 21, the 'shortest day' of the year...but that ought to be the MIDDLE of winter, being the low point (so to speak) of the curve.

Some quick calculations and/or googling the concept 'cross quarter days' gives us the following information and "corrected" seasons:

A cross-quarter day is a day falling approximately halfway between one of the four main solar events (two solstices and two equinoxes) and the next one. These originated as pagan holidays in Northern Europe and the British Isles, and survive in modern times as neopagan holidays.

The cross-quarter days traditionally mark the start of spring, summer, autumn, and winter, respectively, and are:

* Imbolc or Imbolg (February 1) RELIGIOUS: Candlemas
* Beltane or Bealtaine (May 1) Walpurgis Night (Apr 30) / May Day (May 1)
* Lughnasadh or Lunasa (August 1) Lammas
* Samhain (November 1) Halloween (Oct 31), All Saints' Day (Nov 1), All Souls' Day (Nov 2)

Technically, the cross-quarter day is the start of a season -- the equinox or solstice marks the MIDDLE of a season.

Summer Solstice -- June 21
Winter Solstice -- December 22
Spring Equinox -- March 20
Autumn Equinox -- September 20

NOTE -- the above are for the Northern Hemisphere. In the Southern Hemisphere, the Equinox seasons are reversed -- Spring in Sept, Autumn in March

The Year Wheel
Winter Solstice -- December 22 -- midWinter
Imbolc -- February 1 -- first day of Spring
Spring Equinox -- March 20 -- midSpring
Beltane -- May 1 -- first day of Summer
Summer Solstice--June 21 -- midSummer
Lughnasadh -- August 1 -- first day of Autumn
Autumn Equinox -- September 20 -- midAutumn
Samhain -- November 1 --first day of Winter


SO -- are our seasonal celebrations about 45 days off from where they really ought to be?

Charlie Cotterman
Dayton OH

__________________
"If a tree is cut down in the rainforest, and is used to make paper to print a book, and the book is really bad, and there's nobody that will read it, do you still hear a sucking sound?"
Charlie in Dayton, A.AsC.