Why does the winter solstice mark the beginning of winter rather than the middle?

Question

Why does the winter solstice mark the beginning of winter rather than the middle?

In: 1

Answer 1

That’s astronomical winter.

Meteorological winter starts on December the 1st, about three weeks before the solstice.

The traditional Scottish Gaelic winter begins quite considerably earlier on the 1st of November and ends on St. Bridget’s Day, so Solstice does, in this case, fall roughly in the middle.