Sentence:  But whenever a major purchase was contemplated forty years ago - a new bedroom set or a <WSD>winter</WSD> coat , an Easter bonnet , a bicycle for Junior - the family set off for the downtown department store , where the selection would be greatest . 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  the coldest season of the year; in the northern hemisphere it extends from the winter solstice to the vernal equinox