In some sense, it was the better part of the year because in agrarian society you just can't work at winter, can't plant or reap. You mostly chill and eat through what you have prepared before. If you didn't, well, you are fucked.

It's not that way with those who don't have a real winter at all (and that's where we all originally came from) and where some form of winter is all year round (where we started to settle not that long ago for whatever reason).

But in the middle of these two extremes winter is alike to that hibernation. It's a season you normally do 10% of your regular workload if everything is fine, because operating like usual is impossible. You also limit your consumption of fuel and food because you can't restore them without going out of your way. So making a feast from a limited supply does make sense, I guess?

If it's not your first winter tho, you'd be fine, and it's your time to socialize, to imagine stories and games, to love, to drink booze, to smoke, and to invent these celebrations because winter is fucking boring otherwise. As long as you reach over the line of a probable extinction - being an experienced prepper - you'd take five winters over one summer when you get exhausted and burnt out on a daily basis.