The description of the year's passage comes at the beginning of the second part of the story, visualizing how winter gives way to spring, crops grow and are harvested, and then things begin to rot, green things turn grey, and winter returns "without asking anyone."
This may be an allegory for the way in which the Knight's challenge has affected Gawain and those around him; the Knight swept in without any invitation, bringing death with him, and now waits at the end of the year, like an omen, casting a shadow over the rest of the year because every moment brings Gawain closer to the appointed time of their meeting. Further, the Knight is huge, imposing and seemingly invincible, as though he were a force of nature rather than a person; symbolically, fighting him is akin to fighting the seasons themselves. Resisting his quest would be like resisting the onset of winter, and so Gawain must do this with the most grace, control and faith he can muster in order to maintain his reputation.
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