Winter - What Dates Are

“Winter begins,” he wrote, “on the day you first see your breath in the air. It begins the morning the pond skin is thick enough to hold a pebble. It begins at the solstice for the calendar, on December 1st for the scientist, and for the old oak tree outside my window—it begins when the last leaf finally lets go.”

The answer, Leo learned, wasn’t on any calendar. what dates are winter

His older sister, Maya, swore it started on December 1st. “Meteorological winter,” she said, scrolling through her phone. “Scientists group the coldest months together for records.” “Winter begins,” he wrote, “on the day you

It was the first day of December, and Leo was determined to win the annual Snowflake Showdown—a neighborhood contest for the best winter-themed story. But there was a problem. Leo wasn’t sure when winter actually began. His older sister, Maya, swore it started on December 1st

He didn’t win first place (that went to a seven-year-old with a puppet snowman). But a local paper printed his story under the headline: “What Dates Are Winter? A Boy’s Answer Melts Hearts.”