writers.com newsletter

a monthly electronic publication from
Writers on the Net
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Vol. 7, No. 1
January 2004

IN THIS ISSUE:

THE DEPTHS OF WINTER
~~CLASS SCHEDULE~~ [to current class schedule page]
TIPS: Some *Timely* Capitalization
ROOTS: winter
~~NEWSLINKS~~

THE DEPTHS OF WINTER

Here in the middle and high latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere, it's a good time of year to look ahead, make resolutions, and offer predictions. This may have as much to do with the weather, however, as with marking the new year. Celebrating the new year is one of the most common and ancient of customs in human society, but the start of a new year was usually considered to be somewhere around the spring (late April) or summer (late June) solstices and tied to the growing season rather than the winter (late December) solstice. The determination of January 1 as the official start of the year was not commonly accepted until the adoption of the Gregorian calendar (1582 by the Roman Catholic church, 1660 in Scotland, around 1700 in Germany and Denmark, 1752 in England, but not until 1918 in Russia).

So it may not be just this arbitrary "new beginning" that makes us inclined to ponder during the depths of winter. These are a cold, dark, dormant weeks that allow for more contemplation than usual -- whether we want it or not.

Travel is no longer cut off until the spring thaw, as it once was, but even with modern transportation we are still faced with weather-related delays and the physical limitations of cold weather. Our ancestors' lives were governed by agricultural seasons and the hours of light during a day. Most of us no longer worry about the length of a growing season or various harvest times. But, despite, the advent of artificial light and heat, bad weather and the cold still keep us indoors.

Our ancestors spent winters planning wars and expeditions, exploring close to home, mending, crafting, creating, telling tales, and, yes, when the time came, writing. Writing about journeys made and battles fought; turning journals and personal experience into books; forging argument and belief into profound statement; pounding passions and politics into persuasive documents; setting down ancient legends and new stories; preserving the past with the written word and putting dreams into a readable format.

When the worst of winter comes, we still have, if we are so inclined, more time to write. We have more time to think, to read, to research, to find inspiration, to learn before we write.

Make the most of winter.

As for those of you who live too near the equator to "benefit" from cold weather, remember the adage, "Night time is the winter of the tropics." In the tropics, where temperatures are consistent all year, the greatest seasonal change comes when the sun goes down at night. Unless you are actually ON the equator -- if you live north of it the days get shorter, the nights longer this time of year. You, too, can make the most of your "winter."

[For those of you south of the equator -- and thus currently enjoying the warmth of summer and its longer days -- just pretend I am talking about next July.]

WRITING TIP:
Some TIMELY Capitalization

The four seasons (and their derivatives or synonyms) are never capitalized unless standing in place of an issue number or specific month(s) of publication of a periodical.

spring, summer, winter, fall, autumn
springtime
the summer solstice, the vernal equinox

City Journal (Spring 2003)
Physiology Online, Issue 53, Summer 2003

* * *

Days of the week and months are capitalized

Sunday
Wednesday
April
October

* * *

Time zones and time abbreviations are capitalized, but are lower-cased when spelled out unless a proper noun is involved

eastern standard time: EST
central daylight time: CDT
Greenwich mean time: GMT
daylight saving time

(Note: Associated Press style differs)

* * *

Secular and religious holidays are capitalized:

Memorial Day
Ramadan
Yom Kippur

However, it is election day and inauguration day.

Capitalization of the term used generically by the military to mean the day on which a combat attack or operation is to be initiated and the term specifically denoting June 6, 1944 is not completely settled. (Neither is its hyphenation.) Merriam-Webster and the Chicago manual of style it is "D day" for either. The Associated Press designates "D-Day" as the day the Allies invaded France in World War II, but makes no mention of the generic term. The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language sets "D-day" for both.

ROOTS
"winter"

Did Northern Europeans (German, English, and Dutch all spell the word for the fourth season "winter," while Swedish and Danish have "vinter") think of winter as a wet season or one that was white with ice, frost, and snow? Etymological theories embrace both possibilities.

One theory is that "winter" comes from the Indo-European base "*wed-" meaning "wet." The words "water," "wash," and "otter" are related, and so is the prefix "hydro-" (from the Greek "hudr," "water"), which gives us, for example, "hydrant." The Latin "unda" ("wave"), is also derived from "*wed-" and we get undine, undulate, inundate and other words from "unda." "Vodka" comes from the Russian word "vod," meaning "water" and "vod" also come from that same Indo-European base.

The other theory claims the Indo-European "*kwintos-/*kwindos" ("bright") or "*wind-" ("white") as the ultimate source. The Welsh "gwyn-," Irish "fionn," and Breton "gwenn" all stem from this base as does the Old English "hwit" -- the direct precursor of "white." The Sanskrit "sveta-" ("white"), Russian "svet" ("light") and German, Dutch, Swedish and Danish word

QUOTATION: In the depths of winter I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer. -- Albert Camus (1913-1960)

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