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   Stallion Store's Spring Equinox Guide

 
Spring (Vernal) Equinox - March 20, 2004
 
March 20, 2004, is a date that most of us recognize as symbolic of changing seasons. As we welcome spring, people south of the equator are actually gearing up for the cooler temperatures of autumn.

What Happens at the Equinox?

Far from being an arbitrary indicator of the changing seasons, March 20 (March 21 in some years) is significant for astronomical reasons. On March 20, 2004, at precisely 1:49 a.m. EST (06:49 Universal Time), the Sun will cross directly over the Earth's equator. This moment is known as the vernal equinox in the Northern Hemisphere. For the Southern Hemisphere, this is the moment of the autumnal equinox.

Equinox Means "Equal Night"

Translated literally, equinox means "equal night." Because the sun is positioned above the equator, day and night are about equal in length all over the world during the equinoxes. A second equinox occurs each year on September 22 or 23; in 2004, it will be on September 22 at 12:30 p.m. EDT (16:30 UT). This date will mark the autumnal equinox in the Northern Hemisphere and the vernal equinox in the Southern (vernal denotes "spring").

Reasons for the Seasons

These brief but monumental moments owe their significance to the 23.4 degree tilt of the Earth's axis. Because of the tilt, we receive the Sun's rays most directly in the summer. In the winter, when we are tilted away from the Sun, the rays pass through the atmosphere at a greater slant, bringing lower temperatures. If the Earth rotated on an axis perpendicular to the plane of the Earth's orbit around the Sun, there would be no variation in day lengths or temperatures throughout the year, and we would not have seasons.

Rituals and Traditions

Modern astronomy aside, people have recognized the vernal equinox for thousands of years. There is no shortage of rituals and traditions surrounding the coming of spring. Many early peoples celebrated for the basic reason that their food supplies would soon be restored. The date is significant in Christianity because Easter always falls on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the vernal equinox. It is also probably no coincidence that early Egyptians built the Great Sphinx so that it points directly toward the rising Sun on the day of the vernal equinox.

Special Thanks to Ann-Marie Imbornoni and Elissa Haney

Spring Folklore

This celestial phenomenon has been recognized for thousands of years and, in the case of the vernal equinox, which heralds the advent of spring, has given rise to a considerable body of seasonal folklore.

The egg being the most literal and obvious of all fertility symbols, ancient eggish customs survive not only in the form of Easter eggs, but also in the quaint superstitious belief, most often attributed to the Chinese, that you can stand a raw egg on end during the equinox. This apparently derives from the notion that, due to the sun's equidistant position between the poles of the earth on the first day of spring, special gravitational forces apply.

It can be done, by the way, but the trick takes lots of patience, eggs of just the right shape, a pinch of salt if all else fails... and, frankly, it doesn't matter what day of the year you attempt it.

Special thanks to David Emery

Spring Poems

The cherry trees wear puffs again,
The tulips show green shoots.

A shower sprinkled down on me,
but I had on my boots.

I saw a pretty butterfly,
I heard a robin sing.

I'd like to sing, I'd like to shout!
It's spring, it's spring, it's spring!

Good-bye Winter, Hello Spring

Ssh! The grass is sleeping.
Look! A flower's peeping.
Listen to the March wind as it rustles through the trees.

Oooh! My nose is stinging.
Oh! A bird is singing.
Listen to the March wind as it rustles through the trees.

Good-bye to Winter!
Hello to Spring!
Nature is wonderful                                         
It makes me want to sing!

All the snow is leaving.
Ssh! The trees are breathing.
Listen to the March wind as it rustles through the trees.
 


 

 

 

 

 
 
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