Amidst our compilation of the best winter quotes, we note we’re not alone in finding genuine joy with a cup of hot cocoa, eating good food, creating snow angels, and extended sleeping hours.
According to a YouGov survey in the USA, the least favorite season is winter, yet Americans from warmer states tend to prefer it. But even if you enjoy the milder temperature or some of you might experience winter sadness, there are still many reasons to love the shortest season, complete with darker nights and chillier temperatures.
Yes, the freezing temperature has many downsides, but it's part of nature's design! Whether it's preparation, rest, gratitude, being present, or generosity, let's absorb the best of this season.
Read through our curated winter quotes below that perfectly encapsulate the colder months.
For more quotes related to the winter months, you might also like our compilation of the best mountain quotes, rain quotes, and for more from the seasons, our summer quotes contrast the winter.
Quick links to our selection of winter quotes:
During winter, we can see nature changing - leaves fall to the ground, and animals prepare to hibernate or migrate. And as the night gets longer, our body follows a new circadian clock2. Going against it for an extended period could lead to sleep deprivation1, lower performance, and contribute to other health issues.
But the winter holiday rush keeps us occupied, whether it's activities for work or pleasure. So despite those struggles, we should allow ourselves to slow down because rest is a gift. And nature helps provide a reason or two to slow down through the winter season.
As you listen to nature's call to pause, you can read the best winter quotes we have prepared for you.
"In seed time learn, in harvest teach, in winter enjoy."
"I believe in process. I believe in four seasons. I believe that winter's tough, but spring's coming. I believe that there's a growing season. And I think that you realize that in life, you grow. You get better."
"As winter strips the leaves from around us, so that we may see the distant regions they formerly concealed, so old age takes away our enjoyments only to enlarge the prospect of the coming eternity."
"While I relish our warm months, winter forms our character and brings out our best."
"I love winter. It's a beautiful time, but also a melancholic time, a reflective time..."
Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the fire: it is the time for home.
~ Edith Sitwell
Physics dictates that energy will always dissipate from the hotter object to the cooler one. That's why keeping our body's normal temperature is challenging during winter. So we seek comfort from the warmth brought by winter clothes, hot cocoa, a fireplace, and many more.
Internally, our bodies also have defense mechanisms against the cold. One is shivering, wherein our skeletal muscles' repeatedly tensing and relaxing movements generate heat.
Grab your favorite hot drink as you read the next set of winter quotes that will warm you up.
Related: Humans aren’t the only ones that need to keep warm during winter. You might like to read up on where bees go in the winter, and we also answer that burning question, do squirrels hibernate?
Elsewhere, if getting out in the fresh winter air, make sure you grab some sustainable outdoor clothing.
"I love the scents of winter! For me, it's all about the feeling you get when you smell pumpkin spice, cinnamon, nutmeg, gingerbread and spruce."
"Winter blues are cured every time with a potato gratin paired with a roast chicken."
"There's nothing better than curling up with a good book and sitting in front of the fire on winter evenings."
"Give me a hot drink, and I'm happy. Hot cider, hot chocolate, coffee... I like all winter beverages!"
"I like cool jackets - a nice fall or winter coat. You can get a lot of use out of it, and you'll wear it frequently, so it can really set the tone of your uniform for the season."
"I know 'Hallelujah' isn't actually a Christmas song, but it has that cozy, haunting vibe that sounds like a winter's night and belongs by a fire."
I wonder if the snow loves the trees and fields, that it kisses them so gently? And then it covers them up snug, you know, with a white quilt; and perhaps it says, "Go to sleep, darlings, till the summer comes again".
~ Lewis Carroll
Regardless of the season's parties and vacations, the significantly less sunlight during the winter season naturally reduces serotonin levels in our body3, hence, the term winter blues. In addition, according to the National Institutes of Health, it is not to be confused with the more severe type of depression called Seasonal Affective Disorder which is recurrent.
Seasons change, and so do our emotions. So after reading the following winter quotes, discover ways to beat the temporary sadness this cold weather brings and maintain a positive attitude.
"Laughter is the sun that drives winter from the human face."
"In the depth of winter I finally learned that there was in me an invincible summer."
"Are the days of winter sunshine just as sad for you, too? When it is misty, in the evenings, and I am out walking by myself, it seems to me that the rain is falling through my heart and causing it to crumble into ruins."
"The spring, summer, is quite a hectic time for people in their lives, but then it comes to autumn, and to winter, and you can't but help think back to the year that was, and then hopefully looking forward to the year that is approaching."
"I had been educated in the rhythms of the mountain, rhythms in which change was never fundamental, only cyclical. The same sun appeared each morning, swept over the valley, and dropped behind the peak. The snows that fell in winter always melted in the spring."
Winter officially starts on the Winter Solstice, wherein the Sun reaches its lowest height in the sky around the twenty-first of December, give or take a day or two.
However, meteorologists set it on the first of December to keep the records consistent. According to the climate records of the NOAA National Climatic Data Center, the average winter temperature in the USA, excluding Hawaii and Alaska, is above 33.2 degrees Fahrenheit.
Let's read the winter quotes below to see how people react to the freezing weather. For more from the holiday season, our December quotes explore the end of the year's celebrations. And to appreciate it might not be that cold where you are, check out our list of the coldest places on the planet.
"And finally Winter, with its bitin', whinin' wind, and all the land will be mantled with snow."
"It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold: when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade."
"The hard soil and four months of snow make the inhabitants of the northern temperate zone wiser and abler than his fellow who enjoys the fixed smile of the tropics."
"Many human beings say that they enjoy the winter, but what they really enjoy is feeling proof against it."
"As winter weather settles in around the country, millions of American families are facing skyrocketing home heating prices with even greater impact if cold temperatures persist into the spring."
"You know it's a real winter when Bostonians are telling you that they've never experienced anything like it."
"A large part of Canada heads for Florida, California, and Hawaii in the winter to get away from the snow."
Blow, blow, thou winter wind, thou art not so unkind as man's ingratitude.
~ William Shakespeare
What makes winter magical is the snow that makes the earth look almost otherworldly for a few months of the year. As the snow falls and the sunlight hits the ice crystals, it reflects the light back and forth, creating the sparkle we all admire.
Winter may not be as colorful as the other seasons, but its snow also possesses variety. Dependent on various environmental factors, snow takes many forms. Scientists from National Snow and Ice Data Center classified the types of snow crystals, snowfall, snow cover, and snow formations in detail.
After reading this section of winter quotes, check out more of the science behind snow.
"Snow flurries began to fall and they swirled around people's legs like house cats. It was magical, this snow globe world."
"Snowing is an attempt of God to make the dirty world look clean."
"Thank goodness for the first snow, it was a reminder–no matter how old you became and how much you'd seen, things could still be new if you were willing to believe they still mattered."
"There’s just something beautiful about walking on snow that nobody else has walked on. It makes you believe you’re special."
"He who marvels at the beauty of the world in summer will find equal cause for wonder and admiration in winter."
It's safe to assume that the winter holiday we are all looking forward to is Christmas. But in this section, we want to highlight another winter event - the Winter Olympics.
Since winter only occurs in temperate climates, Winter Olympics have a smaller scale than the Summer Olympics; both transpire every four years. Originally named Winter Sports Week, participants celebrated the first winter games in France in 1924.
Scan the next set of winter quotes as you prepare for the holidays during the cold weather.
Related: As you prepare for the holiday season, your thoughts might turn to Christmas giving. For a more sustainable Christmas season, check out our guide to a zero-waste Christmas, and we’ve loads of zero-waste gift ideas too.
"I love snow for the same reason I love Christmas. It brings people together while time stands still."
"It always depresses me when people moan about how commercial Christmas is. I love everything about it. The tradition of having this great big feast, slap bang in the middle of winter, is an essential thing to look forward to at the end of the year."
"Passover and Easter are the only Jewish and Christian holidays that move in sync, like the ice skating pairs we saw during the winter Olympics."
"Regardless of what you look like, regardless of where you come from, you can be involved in winter sports."
"If one little girl who looks like me picks up a winter sport because she sees me, that's all anybody could ever ask for."
The problem with winter sports is that - follow me closely here - they generally take place in winter.
~ Dave Barry
If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant: if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome.
~ Anne Bradstreet
Winter is not only fun and games because the brutally cold temperature inflicts health issues like the flu virus, asthma attacks, pneumonia, and many more. Fortunately, our warm homes protect us from the harsh elements of winter, but what of the homeless people?
According to Father Joe's Village, 700 people in the United States experiencing homelessness could die of hypothermia each year.
You may like to consider how you can volunteer to warm the homeless so they too can appreciate winter like the authors and poets of the winter quotes below.
"You can't get too much winter in the winter."
"Winter, a lingering season, is a time to gather golden moments, embark upon a sentimental journey, and enjoy every idle hour."
"The madness of spring is so enticing. I love it when things are opening up and emerging from the ground. I also love the middle of summer when fruit is bursting forth, but I even love the garden in the winter when everything is resting."
"I prefer winter and fall , when you feel the bone structure of the landscape — the loneliness of it; the dead feeling of winter. Something waits beneath it, the whole story doesn't show."
"I love the idea of the winter rose that's sort of sleeping underneath the soil. Underneath all the snow is this plant that was growing and developing and could present itself as this beautiful flower in this time where everything else around it is very barren."
"It is the life of the crystal, the architect of the flake, the fire of the frost, the soul of the sunbeam. This crisp winter air is full of it."
"Now is the winter of our discontent."
"Spring passes and one remembers one's innocence. Summer passes and one remembers one's exuberance. Autumn passes and one remembers one's reverence. Winter passes and one remembers one's perseverance."
Anne came dancing home in the purple winter twilight across the snowy places.
~ L. M. Montgomery
What good is the warmth of summer without the cold of winter to give it sweetness?
~ John Steinbeck
Welcome, winter. Your late dawns and chilled breath make me lazy, but I love you nonetheless.
~ Terri Guillemets
No winter lasts forever; no spring skips its turn.
~ Hal Borland
When I was young, I loved summer and hated winter. When I got older I loved winter and hated summer. Now that I'm even older, and wiser, I hate both summer and winter.
~ Jarod Kintz
Snow was falling, so much like stars filling the dark trees that one could easily imagine its reason for being was nothing more than prettiness.
~ Mary Oliver
What do you want to show on your social media accounts this winter? If you are from Bethel, Maine, you will share on the internet the world's tallest snowman and snowwoman with heights of 10 and 11 stories, respectively. Aside from the 12 million pounds of snow, the residents of Bethel used skis, tires, and trees and made gigantic versions of hats and scarves.
Make your social media posts winter-worthy with the following short winter captions.
"When it snows, you have two choices: shovel or make snow angels."
"O, wind, if winter comes, can spring be far behind?"
"Winter is a season of recovery and preparation."
"The pine stays green in winter... wisdom in hardship."
"How many lessons of faith and beauty we should lose, if there were no winter in our year!"
"No winter lasts forever; no spring skips its turn."
"Let us love winter, for it is the spring of genius."
"In winter, I plot and plan. In spring, I move."
"My old grandmother always used to say, Summer friends will melt away like summer snows, but winter friends are friends forever."
To shorten winter, borrow some money due in spring.
~ W.J. Vogel
The fire is winter's fruit.
~ Arabian Proverb
Autumn arrives in early morning, but spring at the close of a winter day.
~ Elizabeth Bowen
Winter is on my head, but eternal spring is in my heart.
~ Victor Hugo
Nothing burns like the cold.
~ George R.R. Martin
One kind word can warm three winter months
~ Japanese Proverb
| 1 | Disruption of circadian rhythm increases the risk of cancer, metabolic syndrome, and cardiovascular disease. Vignesh Shanmugam, et al. Journal of Local and Global Health Science, Volume 2013, Issue 1, Aug 2013. |
| 2 | Namni Goel, Mathias Basner, Hengyi Rao, David F. Dinges, Chapter Seven - Circadian Rhythms, Sleep Deprivation, and Human Performance, Editor(s): Martha U. Gillette, Progress in Molecular Biology and Translational Science, Academic Press, Volume 119, 2013, Pages 155-190, ISSN 1877-1173, ISBN 9780123969712, https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-396971-2.00007-5 |
| 3 | GW Lambert, C Reid, DM Kaye, GL Jennings, MD Esler, Effect of sunlight and season on serotonin turnover in the brain, The Lancet, Volume 360, Issue 9348, 2002, Pages 1840-1842, ISSN 0140-6736, https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(02)11737-5 |
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