You may have noticed that as the seasons change, we humans have a tendency to change like the leaves; we adorn ourselves in darker, earthy colours and we go as far as changing the clocks. In Autumn, spiced coffees hit the high-streets and knitwear is added to every rack of our boutiques. For Summer, we hit the beaches and favour fruit juice over tea. Some people go as far as changing the books they read, the television programmes they watch, the music they listen to, all to suit the atmosphere of the time. When you set your mind to it, it really all does seem quite primitive…

….And that’s because it is! Like wild animals, as the weather turns we turn to hot soups and hearty meals to keep us warm. Our wardrobes are replenished with with boots and tights and the magazines feature this winter’s ‘perfect winter coat.’  We are not so much more complex than our undomesticated cousins as we would like to think; they too sport a furry coat and sleep an extraordinary amount of hours —  something only few of us get to indulge in. 

Though it’s not all physical, I suspect a lot of it comes out of our need for the scenic and perfect. It is a rule that all Christmas films feature untrodden-snow and inordinate amounts of the colour red. These give a familiar, charming scene we all attempt to recreate once a year. Shopping bags change colour and we try to blend into our surroundings and live in a winter-wonderland.

Now picture this setting in August, an off-putting spectacle for many, better off with frangipane flowers and ‘beachy waves’ than twinkling lights and pine trees. To put it simply, and to quote author Donna Tartt, we have “a morbid longing for the picturesque at all costs.” — a motto CEOs everywhere must swear by.  Marketing managers play on this humane desire for the attractive and dress-up even the mundane products handsomely. The result of this being snowflake-patterned loo-roll and bat-shaped pizzas, a very of the times commodity.

Frankly, the weather dictates our mood completely. We use it to spark conversation and search for beauty in the dimmest, most dismal November days when we long for Spring-blue skies. The beauty and excitement of it all keeps us going in the harsher months, and when we are sold this perfect seasonal image to the point of no escape, we cannot help but roll with the seasons.