PHOTO BY KRISTY GRAVER

If you judge the passage of time primarily by the decor available in home-goods stores, there are four seasons: spring, America, Halloween and Christmas.

The year begins — in January, mind you — with goods promising the arrival of flowers and the Easter bunny. This bit of the calendar used to be reserved for Valentine’s Day, but Cupid has lost the tchotchke battle; this year, I bought my first Cadbury Cream Egg on Jan. 2.

The spring stuff continues until April or so, at which time patriotic decor and all manner of pyrotechnic accoutrements fill shelves as stores prepare for the Memorial-Day-to-Independence-Day corridor.

As soon as the bunting falls, however, it’s Spooky Season. Never mind that July 4 is 119 days from Oct. 31; once we douse those cookout charcoals and watch the fireworks, it’s time to bring on the skeletons.

This shift has been particularly evident this year in the Pittsburgh region. The new Steel City Spooky Market, a gathering of macabre-goods vendors and aficionados, announced eight dates for 2025, stretching from Aug. 9 to Oct. 25. Both Hundred Acres Manor and Kennywood’s Phantom Fall Fest are less than a month away; both are set to begin on Sept. 12. The trend began even before July Fourth, at least in haunt-minded Allentown; the summer edition of the Allentown Night Market, held on June 14, drew droves to the Hilltop. (Another is scheduled for Oct. 11.)

There’s a name for this trend: Summerween, a celebration of autumnal attitudes and aesthetics amid the July and August heat. (The name needs some work, even if I’m all for the general concept.)

Part of the local proliferation of Summerween activities undoubtedly is due to Pittsburgh’s ongoing status as a generally fright-focused city. But I think the real reason for Halloween’s creep into the warmer months is more universal: After a month or two, summer loses its luster.

Summer is at its best exactly twice a year: for the first week it’s truly warm, and whenever you happen to have a vacation scheduled. Other than that, summer means heat, bugs and general discomfort. After about a month or so of warm temperatures — traditionally in the neighborhood of the Fourth, but crawling ever earlier on the calendar — we are mostly ready to embrace autumn, with its more palatable climate, cozier clothing and cinnamon-forward flavors.

If you’re any kind of successful planner, by the end of July, you’ve probably been to PNC Park. You may have already gone to Kennywood; if you have children, you’ve probably already taken whatever vacation is on the books, lest you schedule too close to back-to-school season. You’ve probably eaten outdoors; you’ve certainly mowed all the grass you care to mow on an annual basis.

I might grant you July. But a week or two into August, who wants more mosquitoes and late sunsets?

Rather than see Summerween and its attendant knick-knacks as a sheer commercial movement (a theory that is not without merit), let’s instead look at this trend as a triumph of looking forward. If we’re always gazing ahead, we can fill our time with anticipation and always be planning for future enjoyment. Yes, we should live in the moment, but we should also always be excited about what comes next.

After all, I have to think this week. My annual trip to Halloween Horror Nights in Orlando is, like, three weeks away.