Social season

The social season, or season, refers to the traditional annual period in the spring and summer when it is customary for members of the social elite to hold balls, dinner parties and charity events. Until the First World War, it was also the appropriate time to reside in the city (generally meaning London in Great Britain and Dublin in Ireland) rather than in the country in order to attend such events.

In modern times in the United Kingdom, "the [London] Season" is known to encompass various prestigious but mostly accessible events that take place during the spring and summer. The Dublin social season began to decline after the formation of the Irish Free State and no longer occurs today.

The Scottish social season would follow the London one and take place in the Scottish Highlands. There was a social season, or some semblance of one, in British colonies, including British India, British Hong Kong, British Shanghai, British Australia, British New Zealand and British Egypt. Despite being republics with no official aristocracies, the United States and France had social seasons in the 19th century.