Blackberry winter is a colloquial expression used in

south South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both west and east. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...

midwest The Midwestern United States (also referred to as the Midwest, the Heartland or the American Midwest) is one of the four census regions defined by the United States Census Bureau. It occupies the northern central part of the United States. It ...

North America; as well as in Europe,

Sinosphere The Sinosphere, also known as the Chinese cultural sphere, East Asian cultural sphere, or the Sinic world, encompasses multiple countries in East Asia and Southeast Asia that were historically heavily influenced by Chinese culture. The Sinosph ...

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

and East Asia, referring to a

cold snap A cold wave (known in some regions as a cold snap, cold spell or Arctic Snap) is a weather phenomenon that is distinguished by a cooling of the air. Specifically, as used by the U.S. National Weather Service, a cold wave is a rapid fall in temp ...

that often occurs in late spring when the

blackberries BlackBerry is a discontinued brand of handheld devices and related mobile services, originally developed and maintained by the Canadian company Research In Motion (RIM, later known as BlackBerry Limited) until 2016. The first BlackBerry device ...

are in bloom. Other colloquial names for spring cold snaps include "dogwood winter," "whippoorwill winter," "locust winter," and "redbud winter." The different names are based on what is blooming in particular regions during the typical spring cold snaps. Another colloquialism for these spring cold snaps is "linsey-woolsey britches winter," referring to a type of winter long underwear which could be put away after the last cold snap. The blackberry winter term may have arisen to describe the belief that a spring cold snap helps the blackberry canes to start growing. In East Asia and Vietnam, the blackberry winter is known as Miss Ban's Winter ( zh, link=no, 小班冷, , ), as it associated with an ancient folk tale of Miss Ban, a young daughter of the

Jade Emperor In the Chinese mythology, myths and Chinese folk religion, folk religion of Chinese culture, the Jade Emperor or Yudi is one of the representations of the Primordial Divinity (Tai Di), primordial god. In Taoist theology, he is the assistant of ...

who is hard-working but clumsy. She marries a husband, who is also a god, with the hope that she could improve her housework skills. In the winter, she dedicates herself to tailor clothes for her husband, but her clumsiness results in her being unable to finish the job until the end of winter. When she finishes, March has already gone by; thus she misses the winter. She falls down crying, and the Jade Emperor, touched by her will, decides to return the cold for a week to allow her husband to wear the clothes of Miss Ban. Thus, this is known as Miss Ban's Winter. Capricious April

In rural England, the equivalent term is "blackthorn winter", so-called because the blackthorn in hedgerows blossoms in early April, preceding the leaves, and presents an intense white spray against the black branches of the bush. In Finland, where the phenomenon is incredibly common – even in the month of May – the expression to describe it "takatalvi" (lit: back winter; most likely from the word ''takaisin'' 'come back', as in "returning winter") is part of common parlance.

In media

Blackberry Winter Blackberry winter is a colloquial expression used in south, midwest North America; as well as in Europe, Sinosphere Vietnam and East Asia, referring to a cold snap that often occurs in late spring when the blackberries are in bloom. Other colloq ...

" is the name of a frequently anthologized short story from 1946 by

Robert Penn Warren Robert Penn Warren (April 24, 1905 – September 15, 1989) was an American poet, novelist, literary critic and professor at Yale University. He was one of the founders of New Criticism. He was also a charter member of the Fellowship of Southern ...

. It is also the name of a song written by

Edith Lindeman __NOTOC__ Edith Lindeman (March 21, 1898 – December 22, 1984), also known as Edith Elliott Lindeman Calisch, was the film and theater critic for the ''Richmond Times-Dispatch'' from 1933 to 1964. She is best remembered for writing lyrics to pop ...

and

Carl Stutz Carl Stutz (died October 8, 1996) was an American composer, radio announcer and teacher. Collaborating with lyricist Edith Lindeman, he wrote the music for several popular songs in the 1950s. His most well-known composition was "Little Things Mea ...

. This became a back-door million-seller as the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

Mitch Miller Mitchell William Miller (July 4, 1911 – July 31, 2010) was an American choral conductor, record producer, record-industry executive, and professional oboist. He was involved in almost all aspects of the industry, particularly as a conductor ...

's recording of The Yellow Rose of Texas, a number 1 hit in the U.S. in 1955. It is also the name of a well-reviewed (if not major) classical/symphonic work by composer Conni Ellisor, and a well-reviewed ballet based on this composition. It is also the name of a song by Alec Wilder and Loonis McGlohon. ''Blackberry Winter'' is also the name of a 2006 short film directed by Brent Stewart about a cannibal clown in the antebellum South. ''Blackberry Winter'' is also the title of the autobiography (1972) of anthropologist

Margaret Mead Margaret Mead (December 16, 1901 – November 15, 1978) was an American cultural anthropologist, author and speaker, who appeared frequently in the mass media during the 1960s and the 1970s. She earned her bachelor's degree at Barnard Col ...

Footnotes

Sources

*Millichap, Joseph R. 1992. ''Robert Penn Warren: A Study of the Short Fiction.'' ''

Twayne Publishers Gale is a global provider of research and digital learning resources. The company is based in Farmington Hills, Michigan, United States, west of Detroit. It has been a division of Cengage since 2007. The company, formerly known as Gale Research a ...

'', New York.

Gordon Weaver Gordon A. Weaver (February 2, 1937 – April 2, 2021) was an American novelist and short story writer. Life and career Weaver was born in Moline, Illinois in February 1937, the fifth of the five children of Noble Rodell Weaver and Inez Katherine ...

, editor. * Warren, Robert Penn. 1983. ''The Circus in the Attic and Other Stories.'' A Harvest Book,

Harcourt Brace & Company Harcourt () was an American publishing firm with a long history of publishing fiction and nonfiction for adults and children. It was known at different stages in its history as Harcourt Brace, & Co. and Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. From 1919 to 1 ...

, New York. {{ISBN , 0-15-618002-2 (paperback). Weather lore Colloquial terms

In media

See also

Footnotes

Sources