The notion that there are just two seasons in Israel, wet (winter) anddry (summer) [ref1, is, I believe, an over-simplification.
For those living in the temperate zones as defined by latitude, theseasons depend upon the Gregorian calendar and its related astronomical events,the summer and winter solstices, and the autumnal and vernal equinoxes. Forthose closer to the equator, this is less useful and other designations, oftenbased upon rainfall, have been used.[ref 3]
Since recorded history for the Shomron area of Israel dates back tobiblical times, I am going to define the seasons there in terms of the Hebrewbiblical calendar, which is a lunar calendar, and I will use biblical referencesas well as my own observations to support my argument. I will argue thatcareful observation indeed shows evidence of the four traditional seasons in theShomron area, and I will relate their temporal boundaries to the biblical Hebrewcalendar.
One cannot proceed without first understanding the differences betweenthe Gregorian and Hebrew calendars.
The Gregorian calendar, based upon the sun, has 12 months (except forFebruary) of 30 or 31 days. The total number of days in an "ordinary" year is365. Since one complete revolution of the Earth around the sun takes very closeto 365.25 days, the addition of an extra day in February once every four yearskeeps the Gregorian calendar aligned with the seasons, the seasons dependingupon where the Earth is within its revolution.
The Hebrew calendar, based upon the revolution of the moonaround the Earth, also has 12 months, but each has a duration of 29 or30 days so that an "ordinary" year has 354 +/- 1 days[ref 4].The Jewish festivals are defined in the Torah as starting on a givendate of the Hebrew calendar. Since the Jewish year, based upon theHebrew calendar, is shorter than the solar (Gregorian) year, withoutany adjustment, each year the festival of Passover, which starts onthe 15th day of the month of Nisan (called Aviv in the Torah), wouldfall earlier and earlier within the solar year. The word Aviv in theTorah is generally translated as Spring, and Jewish sources interpretthe Torah as demanding that the festival of Passover fall always inthe Spring. To this end, the Hebrew calendar was adjusted by HillelII, circa 358 C.E., to insert an extra month on average seven timesevery 19 years, making the Hebrew and Gregorian calendars more or lessin synchrony, thus ensuring that Passover always comes in theSpring.
These are my impressions of the seasons living in Shilo, the firstcapitol and approximate geographic center of Eretz Israel. The delineators arebased upon the Hebrew calendar.
*adding up the days of the seasons, you will note that theHebrew (lunar-based) year, has, in general, fewer days than the Gregorian(solar-based) year. As noted above, seven times in nineteen years, duringHebrew leap years, the number of days between 15 Shevat and 1 Tammuz is 164rather than 134 days, which makes up for the difference and keeps the Hebrewcalendar in sync with the solar calendar.
I have chosen Tu b'Shevat, as the first day of Spring for two reasons,one based upon Jewish tradition, and another based upon my personalobservations. 1), according to Jewish tradition, Tu b'Shevat is known as thestart of the New Year for Trees; and 2), Spring is thought of as a time ofrenewal, and as seen in my essay on gardening inthe Shomron), Tu b'Shevat is a time when many species first show signs ofnew plant growth, deep color returns to Lavender, and the almond treesbloom.
Admittedly, Tu b'Shevat is pretty much the earliest beginning of thesesigns, and some of my friends like to consider Purim as the start of Spring inIsrael. This has the advantage of evening out the seasons somewhat, removing 29days from Spring and adding it to Winter. However, I like that scheme lessbecause it doesn't take cognizance of the fact that Tu b'Shevat is referred toas the birthday for trees.
It is clear, though, that someone from Beersheva or Eilat (southernIsrael), or Haifa or Katzrin (northern Israel) would likely give you differentspecific dates.
Arguments concerning the other seasons
I have somewhat arbitrarily chosen Rosh Hodesh (R. H.) Tammuz as thestart of Summer. I did this because it puts Passover, the Spring holiday, prettymuch in the middle of Spring, and by the first of Tammuz, the chance of evenlight rain has pretty much passed. Additionally, it is around this timethat temperatures in Shilo begin to feel awfully hot during the daytime.
I have chosen Rosh Hashana, the start of the New Year for people (asopposed to trees) as the start of Fall. Some people (those who think there areonly two seasons) consider this the start of Winter, because traditionally, aswell as in fact, Rosh Hashana is often the start of the rainy season. I havetrouble thinking of this as the start of Winter, however, because just two weeksafter Rosh Hashana there is the harvest festival of Sukkot, or Tabernacles as itis referred to in Christian literature. I associate harvests with the Fallseason. Finally, at least in the last decade or so, the heavy rains have come,not immediately after Rosh Hashana, but later in the year, closer to the holidayof Chanukah.
There is nothing in biblical literature, so far as I know, that makesChanukah the start of Winter. I have chosen it because that is often when thetemperature drops and the rains become heavy. You will see from my chart thatWinter, as I define it, is by far the shortest season. Unfortunatedly, thererecently have been several years in which Winter seems to have been virtuallynon-existent, with disastrous consequences for our water supply.
Updated 23 Oct, 2018
