Do you have a favorite season? For 33% of Americans, it begins today, Monday, March 20 as we welcome spring! Signs of spring abound as the natural world revives and reinvigorates after the cooler winter months. Flowers are blooming, birds are chirping, fruit and vegetable seeds are sprouting, and pollen is spreading everywhere.
The first day of spring, the vernal equinox, occurs around March 20 each year. The term vernal is Latin for “spring” and equinox is Latin for “equal night“. There are two equinoxes each calendar year, one in the spring and one in the fall, when there are 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of darkness. The autumnal equinox occurs on September 23 this year at 2:49 am.
With so much uncertainty in the world, spring brings not only additional sunlight, but also the promise of new beginnings inspired by the resilience of nature.
“There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature—the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after winter.”
Rachel Carson
–Tidelines Editors
(Image credit: vecteezy.com)