So the Americans do it too...

While I was living in China, I got a big laugh out of what we called "put your longjohns on" day - becuase that particular calendar day indicated that it was now officially cold, and "take your longjohns off day" which was also a calendar holiday marking the official start of warm weather. Nevermind that it had been sunny and warm for weeks already. If it wasn't yet the designated day, your warm woolies stayed on.

In Korea, I've discovered the official "Air conditioner" Day ~ which is still another 2 weeks away despite the fact that I've been wearing T-shirts since April, and have been dripping in 30 degree weather for over a month now.

I had always chalked it up to being a quirky Asian phenomenon. Now, however, I've discovered that Americans have Memorial Day to start their 110 days of summer. The American Forces TV station here had a huge number of commercials during the Memorial Day weekend urging their service men and women to take appropriate precautions while enjoying their summer activities.... activities we've been enjoying (apparently without taking necessary precautions) for several months now. I was instructed to give my bike a safety check "after keeping it in storage all winter" ... except for 1 snowy week in January, I never stopped riding it! Anyway, all this to say that Americans also seem to use a specific calendar day giving them permission to enjoy summer - even though it feels like it's been here for ages already. I think maybe Canadians have such short summmers, we judge our seasons by the weather, not the calendar.