Spring is the season after winter and before summer. The Northern Hemisphere has spring weather from late March through May. In the Southern Hemisphere, spring weather begins in September and lasts through November. Throughout much of the middle latitudes, spring begins with the melting of winter snow. People living in the tropics rarely consider spring a distinct season because the temperatures there change little from month to month.
The number of daylight hours increases during spring, particularly in the polar regions, and the temperature rises. Nature awakens in spring. Flowers bloom, and hibernating animals leave their winter sleeping places. Many cultures have festivals that celebrate the arrival of spring.
Historically, the year began with spring in many cultures. Evidence of this practice in ancient Rome remains part of the modern calendar. Counting March instead of January as the first month of the year, we find that September, October, November, and December are the seventh, eighth, ninth, and tenth months. The prefixes sept-, oct-, nov-, and dec- come from the Latin words for 7, 8, 9, and 10.
