When to capitalize the seasons

The seasons of the year are a source of confusion for many. Should we write fall fashions or Fall fashions? Is it Spring break or spring break?

Most style guides recommend using lower case when referring generally to the seasons:

• Are you going away for spring break?
• With summer at an end, the new fall fashions are in the stores.

But you need to use upper case when the season

• appears in a title:
  • Gordon Lightfoot performed "Song for a Winter's Night" to the delight of his fans.
• is part of a proper noun:
  • The bright stars Vega, Altair and Deneb form the Summer Triangle.
• is personified:

"Comes Autumn with her sun-burnt caravan,
Like a long gypsy train with trappings gay
And tattered colors of the Orient,
Moving slow-footed through the dreamy hills."
—Bliss Carman

In preparing this linguistic reminder, we consulted the following references:

The Canadian Oxford Guide to Writing (2008)
The Canadian Press Stylebook (2008)
The Canadian Style (1997)
The Canadian Writer's Handbook (2008)
The Chicago Manual of Style (1993)
The Gregg Reference Manual (7th Can. ed., 2006)