Does it make sense to celebrate the new year at the start of winter?

The usual explanation is that people are celebrating the winter solstice, when daylight hours increase. It is still cold. February is the coldest month of the year.

A better choice would be the spring solstice, which is a kind of rebirth of nature. When I went to school, the Jewish new year in fall made sense. Summer vacation was over. Time to get back to work.