It was a cycle without end; voar, summer, hairst and winter, on and on, life and birth, death and rebirth (Robert Alan Jamieson Thin Wealth 1986).
The official dates of seasons, which relate to the equinoxes and solstices, do not always have much bearing on the weathers associated with the individual seasons. Therefore, in conversation, in literature and in local conventions there may be some variation and flexibility and winter or spring may come early or late in the popular imagination, depending on the weather more than the calendar. The ordering here is roughly chronological rather than strictly alphabetical.
SPRING
SUMMER
- Simmer
- Simmermal
- Gowk’s storm
- Teuchat’s storm
- Coo-quake
- Gab o Mey
- Yow-trummle
- Saint Bullion’s Day, Saint Martin of Bullion’s Day
AUTUMN
- Backen
- Hairst, hervest
- Hairst Monday
- Cauld Winter
- The gab o’ winter
- Goesomer, go o’ simmer, St Martin’s summer
- Tattie holidays
- Laidner
WINTER