Seasons and the Sublime
Exploring the role of seasonal rituals in drawing us toward the Divine
“Four seasons fill the measure of the year; There are four seasons in the mind of man…” –John Keats
I stroll through my neighborhood on a late September day. The cold hasn’t set in quite yet; I’m wearing a thick shirt, but it’s short-sleeved, and the jacket that I needed in the morning is crumpled haphazardly in my tote bag. Tall tulip poplars shade the street, and only in their shadows do I feel the crispness creeping into the air. I glance up at the leaves as I pass through and note the tinges of yellow. Autumn is most definitely arriving. I round the corner and happen upon the local coffee shop: none other than Starbucks franchise #55762. By this point, I know the baristas well, and I suspect I will come to know them even better when I see the A-frame sign beckoning me into the shop. “The PSL is back!” it advertises.
So begins a seasonal ritual: during the fall and winter, my bank account is held captive by Starbucks’ seasonal drinks. Apple flavor grips September as pumpkin does October, while November and December boast peppermint and gingerbread. Getting coffee each morning is a routine, as I imagine it is for most college students—how else am I supposed to survive my weekly all-nighters? But during this latter half of the year, the seasonal flavors add an extra, festive pep to my daily cup.
Nonetheless, seasonal trends are not limited to the pumpkin spice latte, nor are they localized to the appetite of the chronically stressed college student. In our modern era, nearly everything is categorized into a consumable, Instagrammable “aesthetic,” especially during the holiday season. As the year gets colder, social media is inundated with influencers, commenters, and public and private profiles alike engaging in such festivities as dressing in “Christian girl autumn” outfits, posting pictures of their “Christmas aesthetics,” arguing over which Thanksgiving food is best, and complaining about various family members whom they are forced to see annually. Indeed, such social media trends are so popular that there are TikTok, Instagram, and X (formerly Twitter) accounts dedicated solely to these activities. Many social media users lament the end of these seasons as the end of these “aesthetics.” Indeed, these ritualistic events are so popular that some users dedicate their accounts to counting down to the rituals’ returns or posting these aesthetics out of season.
Man has always been beholden to the seasonal cycles of nature, especially in the autumn and winter, when death reigns supreme and man needs reminders that life will come again. In our ancient, pagan past, men marked autumn with harvest festivals. The winter solstice was given spiritual significance, heralding the return of life in the coming spring. The Greeks said spring marked the return of the goddess Persephone from her annual stay in the Underworld—the return of life from the realm of death. The Norse pagans marked the “wheel” of the year with three large festivals, two of which occurred in the winter. Ancient and modern poets alike sing of the seasonal cycle, connecting it to human life, wisdom, and beauty. The aged King Hrothgar in Beowulf calls himself “wise in winters”;1 Shakespeare’s sonnets compare his love to “a summer’s day”;2 and Keats’ “The Human Seasons” compares the lifespan to the yearly cycle.3
Modern seasonal trends and rituals, then, inherit an ancient tradition of celebrating the seasons, first developed by the pagans but baptized by Christians.
It is no surprise that modern seasonal trends have their roots in ancient tradition and classic literature. “There is no new thing under the sun,” says the Preacher in Ecclesiastes;4 the human desire, ancient and deep, to revere and celebrate the seasons was put there by the Hand of God. “For ADORATION seasons change,” Christopher Smart wrote.5 Indeed, the Lord planned the seasons as an expression of His glory in nature. It is no coincidence that pagan worshipers had great festivals in the bleak midwinter, without understanding that amid this hopeless season, the Incarnation of God would be born to a virgin mother. It is no coincidence that Jesus Christ died and was resurrected in spring, conquering Death permanently and bringing new life eternal. The seasonal cycle is a representation of God’s plan of salvation for man. It is only natural that the ancient myths and festivals would act as prototypes for the great celebration of Salvation that Christians now enjoy each Christmas and Easter. It is only natural that poets like Shakespeare and Keats would identify human beauty and wisdom with the annual cycle when both were laid out by God at the Creation of the Universe. It is only natural that Christopher Smart would declare, finally, that all the glory of man and of nature alike belongs to God.
Modern seasonal trends and rituals, then, inherit an ancient tradition of celebrating the seasons, first developed by the pagans but baptized by Christians; yet, curiously, they do so without recognizing Christianity as the truth. Of course, this is because we now live in a post-Christian era. We now live in a world where Christian values have been subsumed, secularized, and subjugated by materialism. Certainly, reason has had its victories, and these victories only further complicate modern man’s relationship to God in nature: modern science and the Industrial Revolution have disconnected us most from the difficulties of labor and seasonal changes. We no longer fear for our lives at the onset of winter; we no longer work tirelessly for our autumnal harvest. We are completely removed from the ancient cycles that compelled even the pagans to celebrate the cycle of the seasons. In the name of science, progress, and equality, the Christian culture has been defanged of its spiritual significance, and rampant consumerism and easy living have risen up to replace it.
It would be easy to see the modern, consumerist seasonal rituals as proof of man’s increasing distance from God, yet I see a note of hope in the persistence of cyclical trends. It would be easy, in our world of convenience, to discard ritualistic traditions entirely. That seasonal trends are so popular on social media—especially on platforms like TikTok and Instagram, dominated by Gen Z—reveals that God’s Hand still works in our very souls. The seasons still reveal His glory as we find ourselves inexorably drawn to these cheerful rituals in “the year’s midnight.”6 Even in a world where these celebrations are no longer necessitated by practicality or religiosity, young people still seek them out, though not quite understanding why.
ROSE WILDER LANE
A version of this article originally appeared in Forever Young, the December 2024 print issue of the Salient.
Beowulf, line 1723. This phrasing is repeated throughout to refer to aged characters, including the dragon whom Beowulf fights to conclude the poem.
Shakespeare, Sonnet 18.
Keats, John. “The Human Seasons.”
Ecclesiastes 1:9, King James Version.
Christopher Smart, “A Song to David,” 1763.
John Donne, “A Nocturnal upon St. Lucy’s Day.”
You rightly highlight the importance of seasons and cycles, with annual festivals almost serving as a template to structure our life. You mention the Christian aspects of our calendar, but I think it’s critical to also emphasize the Jewish festival calendar and its relationship to Christianity. In fact, I see the Jewish festivals and holy days as a rehearsal for the most significant Christian celebrations.
The Jewish religious year started in the Spring with Passover, Unleavened Bread, and Firstfruits celebrations all falling in the week of the initial barley harvest. For a Jew, the Passover recounted the last of the ten plagues in Egypt, the death of the firstborn son. Just as the Israelites were saved through applying the blood of a spotless lamb on the doorpost of their houses, so Christians are saved through the blood of their Passover Lamb, Jesus, liberating them from sin.
Unleavened Bread reminds us of the hasty exodus of Israel from their Egyptian slave masters — so quickly leaving that the bread they carried with them had to be made without yeast. This reminds Christians of the importance of sincerity and removing sin from one’s life.
And Firstfruits reminded the Jews of God’s provision and the importance of thankfulness as they raised the first sheaf of the barley harvest to the Lord. Christians recognize this as the resurrection of Christ from the grave, the Firstfruits of a New Covenant between God and man.
Fifty days later comes the Feast of Weeks, or Pentecost. To the Jew, it was a celebration of the giving of the law and the beginning of the wheat harvest. To the Christian, it was the giving of the Spirit to the Church.
Then, in the Fall harvest time, we see another few weeks of Jewish festivals beginning with the Day of Trumpets (Rosh Hashanah, the beginning of the civil year in the Jewish calendar), followed by Atonement (Yom Kippur), ending in the Feast of Booths, also known as the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot).
To the Christian, they represent not only the spiritual atonement of Christ and the dwelling of God with man, but also the future hope of Christ’s return and the ultimate redemption of our bodies and the physical dwelling of God with man in the New Jerusalem.
It is a beautiful cycle that most modern Christians don’t fully appreciate, but it is a continual reminder of God’s provision, not just for man’s physical needs and the preservation of the Jewish people, but also for man’s deepest spiritual needs and God’s desire to restore the fellowship that Adam lost with him in the Garden.