Spring May Be Ready for a Comeback

Spring’s Image Problem

For the last several years, autumn has been the star season, boosted by social media videos of influencers in cozy knitwear against vivid foliage. More than a point on the calendar, fall has become an aesthetic and a lifestyle, complete with its own soundtrack, television comfort viewing and signature flavors.

Spring, by contrast, is often seen as muddy, unpredictable and full of pollen. Recent surveys of Americans’ seasonal preferences have placed it well behind fall, sometimes even in third place.

But as crocuses and snowdrops emerge after months of bitter weather across much of the United States, there are signs that spring may be poised for a cultural comeback. One TikTok creator, posting under the handle sofiaxmarie, recently celebrated the season with images of cherry blossoms, tulips, animals, green pastures, an iced matcha latte and a walk through the park without an overcoat. “I am so ready,” she wrote.

A Season With a Long Cultural Pedigree

That enthusiasm was once common. Spring long held a special place for poets and musicians inspired by the natural world’s renewal. Christopher R. Miller, a professor of English at the College of Staten Island of the City University of New York, said the season’s fleetingness has historically been part of its power.

“These blooms are only going to be here a short time,” Professor Miller said. “You can see spring as a transitional threshold period, where its changes are so visible — and so ephemeral.”

He pointed to Robert Frost’s “Nothing Gold Can Stay,” which laments spring’s evanescence, while earlier writers such as Chaucer praised the “sweet breath” of April’s winds. Shakespeare, in Sonnet 98, wrote that springtime “hath put a spirit of youth in everything.” Centuries later, the Beatles captured the emotional release of warmer weather in “Here Comes the Sun,” George Harrison’s farewell to “a long, cold, lonely winter.” Harrison later said he wrote the song on a sunny April day in 1969 after skipping an unpleasant band meeting, describing the experience as a release of pent-up tension.

Why Fall Took Over

The article suggests that spring’s diminished standing reflects both cultural and practical shifts. Climate change has appeared to compress spring, intensify allergens and lengthen fall’s reign. At the same time, autumn has proved ideal for social media, with golden colors, hashtags and hot beverages helping turn it into an Instagram-friendly season.

Carol Connare, the editor of The Old Farmer’s Almanac, said she recently marked the arrival of warm weather by hiking with a co-worker near the company’s office in Dublin, N.H. “We did it today because it’s in the 60s,” she said. “The beautiful warm wind and feeling that thermal air is amazing.”

Connare also noted spring’s long practical importance. In older almanacs, she said, the season was framed as a time of preparation and urgency: clean your tools, clear the dead wood and get ready for the fieldwork to come.

A Case for a Comeback

Asked how he would improve spring’s image if it were a client, Jamie Falkowski, chief creative officer at Day One Agency, said any successful campaign would first have to acknowledge the season’s drawbacks, including Tax Day, mud, allergies and sharp temperature swings.

From there, he said, the season’s brevity and unpredictability could be turned into assets. His proposed slogan: “Don’t Sleep on Spring.” He imagined a campaign built around the season’s dreamlike quality and its short-lived pleasures.

Falkowski also suggested giving social media creators a simple assignment: spend a day blowing off routine obligations and show how they are taking advantage of the season. “I don’t think spring needs a total rebranding,” he said. “I just think it needs a wake-up call. Spring is our wake-up call as people. To go out there and live life again.”

In the end, his pitch for the season was straightforward: spring may no longer dominate the culture the way fall does, but after a long winter, it still carries a distinctive promise of release, renewal and brief beauty.