Winter

Winter in the starts in late November and lasts until February 24th. In the Southern Hemisphere in, winter lasts from late May to August 24th. Like the other seasons, winter has many unique events and characters, as explained below. Winter follows autumn, and precedes spring.

Events
There are many events that occur in the winter, such as Naughty-or-Nice Day, Toy Day and the New Year's Countdown. Here is a list of the events, what happens in each, in what game and when.


 * Flea Market - and
 * First Saturday of every month (except January) in or Fourth Sunday of every month in
 * Players can visit villager's homes and buy selected items of furniture. Likewise, villagers can visit the player's house and buy items from them, at a price set by the player.


 * Fishing Tourney -, , , and
 * Second or Third Saturday or Sunday (depends on game) of December, January, and February
 * Chip (or Tortimer in ) the fishing ace will set up a stall in the Plaza and will challenge the villagers of the town to catch the biggest fish (either overall or a specific type of fish). The competition ends at 6:00 PM, whereupon the winner will receive a trophy. A notice will also be put up on the bulletin board announcing the winner.


 * Fishing Tourney -
 * Second Saturday of January (Northern Hemisphere) or Second Saturday of July (Southern Hemisphere)
 * C.J. will ask players to catch as many fishes as possible within a 3 minute time range, setting up a cooler where any fishes a player gets will be stored immediately. There's a fee of 500 Bells per run, but during online play the fee is waivered. The competition lasts from 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM, of which after a certain point threshold the players will receive a trophy in their mailbox. Players can also redeem points for "fish swag".


 * Igloos - and
 * Throughout winter
 * Throughout the season, one of the villagers from the player's town may decide to live in an igloo for a day. Players that visit them can chat or play winter games, or in, convince them to move in. If the player spends enough time in the igloo, they may receive one of several exclusive snowy gifts. This event is the winter equivalent to the Summer Tent.


 * Lighthouse Watching -
 * January to February
 * The mayor may ask the player to turn on the lighthouse every night for seven nights (one week) as he leaves for vacation in January or February. If the player turns the light on for seven consecutive days, Tortimer will reward the player with either a lighthouse model or a box of chocolates.


 * La-Di-Day -
 * Second Saturday of January
 * On this day, the player can hear villagers' suggestions for a new town tune. After the tune is sung to the player, they can decide whether or not they want it saved as the town's new melody.


 * Yay Day -
 * Fourth Sunday of January
 * Villagers swap compliments with the player, and may refer to them infrequently after the event.


 * Bright Nights -
 * Second Week of February
 * Villagers decorate their houses with lights, and the player may go to Tortimer to vote each day on the house they like best. The winning villager will be given the title of Bright Star at the end of the week.


 * Valentine's Day -, and
 * February 14th
 * In Animal Crossing, the player will receive letters from various villagers. The more the villager likes the player, the better the gift they are given will be. In and, the player will receive a letter from the villager that they are friendliest with. This villager is always of the opposite gender. The letter contains a box of chocolates, which can be eaten. Brewster will prepare a cup of hot chocolate for the player if they visit The Roost.


 * Father's Day - (only in the Southern Hemisphere)
 * June
 * Fathers across the world are celebrated. In, Nook Shopping will allow the player to purchase a Thank-you-dad mug.


 * Children's Day - (only in the Southern Hemisphere)
 * June
 * Childrens across the world are celebrated during Children Day. Nook Shopping will offer a handmade crown and a handmade cape.


 * Wedding Season - (only in the Southern Hemisphere)
 * June
 * Harvey will ask the player to take anniversary photos of Reese and Cyrus's wedding in Harv's Island. Players are rewarded with heart crystals which can be used to purchase wedding furniture from Cyrus.


 * Midwinter's Day (Europe) -
 * December 21st
 * The shortest day in the player's town. Tortimer stands outside the town hall, giving the player a snowglobe.


 * Winter Solstice - and
 * December 21st or June 7th to July 6th (Southern Hemisphere) in
 * The shortest day in the player's town. In, the sky is all dark all day. Isabelle will be in the Event plaza, giving the player a Blue Glow Stick. In , Nook Shopping will allow the player to purchase a Winter-solstice sweater.


 * Toy Day -, and
 * December 24th (Christmas Eve)
 * The day prior in, the player can visit the Wishing Well during the day to find and talk to Tortimer, who will then give the player a toy: a dolly if the player is a girl, and a miniature car if the player is a boy. On December 24th after 8:00 PM, Jingle the reindeer will distribute presents to players, but only if he fails to recognize them after the initial prize-giving. To do this, the player must change into different outfits. In , the player may have to search for him inside empty neighbor houses. In , he'll ask the player to distribute presents to villagers instead.


 * New Years -, , , and (only in the Northern Hemisphere)
 * December 31st to January 1st
 * Starting at 6:00 AM (or 5:00 AM in ) on December 31st, Tortimer (or Isabelle and Tom Nook in will stand outside in the plaza with a large countdown clock, handing out party poppers (or in Isabelle's case, light sticks) when talked to. In, Tom Nook will also sell either New Year's Hats or New Year's Silk Hats. The clock counts down the seconds till midnight and is adorned with the town's flag and flashing lights. In the final hour before the new year, villagers will talk about their past year, and the music will change several times, building in tension in the last minute with a beep for every second. After midnight, fireworks will go off in the sky and residents will wish the player a Happy New Years.

Characters

 * Chip - A beaver who hosts the Fishing Tourney in and.
 * C.J. - A beaver who hosts the Fishing Tourney in.
 * Snowmen - Snowmen can be made out of snowballs in the winter. If a snowman is made to the correct proportions, he will reward the Player with a piece of snowman furniture. Snowmen can be spoken to, and stay around the town for three (four in and ) days, melting a bit more every day. There are four kinds of snowman in  and each gives different furniture out. In, snowboys will give out DIY recipes of the Frozen Set, alongside a Large Snowflake to use to make furniture with them.
 * Harvey - Hosts Wedding Season on Harv's Island in
 * Reese - Will award the player heart crystals during Wedding Season in
 * Cyrus - Will allow players to purchase wedding furniture using heart crystals during Wedding Season in
 * Jingle - A reindeer who appears on December 24th to distribute presents.
 * Tortimer - The Mayor of the Player's town. He hosts some events.

Fish and Insects
These are the fish and bugs that appear during winter.

Fish

 * Barbel steed
 * Bass (Animal Crossing only)
 * Bitterling
 * Black bass
 * Blowfish ( only)
 * Bluegill
 * Brook trout (Animal Crossing only)
 * Carp
 * Coelacanth
 * Crucian carp
 * Dab
 * Dace
 * Football fish
 * Freshwater goby
 * Goldfish
 * Herabuna (Doubutsu no Mori only)
 * Horse mackerel
 * Koi
 * Large bass (Animal Crossing only)
 * Lobster ( only)
 * Oarfish ( only)
 * Octopus ( and only)
 * Olive flounder
 * Pale chub
 * Pike ( and only)
 * Pond smelt
 * Popeyed goldfish
 * Red snapper
 * Sea bass
 * Sea butterfly
 * Small bass (Animal Crossing only)
 * Squid
 * Stringfish
 * Tuna
 * Yellow perch

Bugs

 * Ant
 * Bagworm
 * Bee
 * Centipede ( and only)
 * Cockroach (Animal Crossing and only)
 * Dung beetle
 * Fly
 * Mole cricket
 * Pill bug
 * Wharf roach ( only)

Items
The following items are exclusive to the winter season.

Clothing
In all clothing items have a season and probability group (A, B, or C) associated with them. Each town favors a certain probability group for clothing and this can be manipulated using feng shui. There are 165 clothing items available in winter, of which 29 are exclusive to the season.

Weather
The weather of winter is consists mainly of snowy, cloudy days. Snow may fall as soon as late November, but will not settle until early December. With the settling of the snow, snowballs can be found dotted around the town. These can be rolled up and joined together to make snowmen, as described above. After December, there is less snowy weather.

Other Information
During December, all existing cedar trees will be decorated with flashing lights, which alternate between blue, green and red. Any new cedars planted will lack the lights, and after the first week of the year, all lights will disappear.