Vernal Equinox: 5 Things To Know About The First Day Of Spring

Vernal Equinox: 5 Things To Know About The First Day Of Spring

Happy first day of spring! The vernal equinox has finally arrived, so what does it all mean? Here’s what you need to know to get up to speed!

1. When is the first day of spring? The season, a.k.a. the spring equinox or vernal equinox, will officially start in the Northern Hemisphere on March 20 at 12:15 p.m. This is just one of two days each year that day and night are almost equal in length across the globe. Yay for daylight! The first day of spring doesn’t exactly mean warmer weather, but it means we’re just one day closer to summer!

2. What does a vernal equinox mean? According to the Farmer’s Almanac, the sun crosses the celestial equator from south to north on the first day of spring. Equinoxes are the two times a year that the sun only rises due east and sets due west. When the sun passes, the tilt of the Earth is zero relative to the sun. This means that Earth’s axis doesn’t point toward or away from the sun. Following the equinox, the Northern Hemisphere tilts toward the sun, which is why we have longer days in the spring and summer!

3. How long does spring last? Spring will last until June 21. That’s the first day of summer!

4. There are many celebrations around the time of the equinox. It is an ancient Chinese tradition to balance eggs, a symbol of fertility, on the day of the vernal equinox for good luck. During the time of the vernal equinox, the Iranians celebrate the Iranian New Year. In Japan, both the equinoxes in March and September are national holidays.

5. There are equinoxes on other planets. Since all the other planets in our solar system rotate on a tilted axis, they have seasons and therefore equinoxes. In 2009, the Cassini spacecraft was able to capture photos of Saturn’s equinox.