First day of spring arrives on the vernal equinox, March 20

Although signs of the changing season abound, March 20 at 7:02 a.m. EDT, marks the official “first day of spring,” beginning with the vernal equinox 2013, also known as the spring equinox or March equinox. This indicates the beginning of spring in the Northern Hemisphere and fall in the Southern Hemisphere. Equinox means “equal night;” the sun shines directly on the Equator, and the length of day and night are equal. As the Sun crosses the celestial equator going northward, it rises exactly due east and sets exactly due west.

According to Infoplease.com, during this time of year, we note a 23.4 degree tilt in the Earth's axis, and 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.

For centuries societies across the globe have recognized the vernal equinox in anticipation of a change in seasons. The date is significant in Christianity because Easter or the celebration of the Resurrection, as a moveable feast, always falls on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the vernal equinox.

Signs of Spring

Following the severe winter weather occurring not too long ago with the record-breaking snow that inundated this region of Ohio and much of the rest of the nation, we were looking for signs of spring all along the way. Both Punxsutawney Phil and Buckeye Chuck, the groundhog forecasters of spring, failed to see their shadows, indicating an early spring. Many always keep their eyes open for the crocuses, among the early blooming flowers that suddenly sprinkle the dark earth with their delicate colors. Next in line are the jonquils or daffodils that burst forth.

As flowers emerge and sprinkle the earth with their beauty, they represent the ultimate expression of new life depicted in the resurrection of Jesus Christ, an occurrence to be celebrated in a couple of weeks.

In moving toward the official start of spring, this writer recalls an experience occurring on the first day of spring when he noticed a garden spot of a neighbor. More than a dozen daffodils were on the verge of blooming, and one, in particular, seemed to be opening up more rapidly than the others. Upon returning home later, he noticed that one flower had blossomed fully in the afternoon sun. That occurrence inspired this poem:

The First Flower

Behold, I show you a mystery;

We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,

In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye,

at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound,

and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

As

the trumpet

the first daffodil,

heralds the birth of Spring today,

so

shall the shofar

sound golden notes

to take us unawares

someday.

Although we still have to endure the remaining days of March, and April’s weather is often unpredictable, we trust that officially on Wednesday, March 20, spring will be here and here to stay.

To learn more about the Autumnal or September equinox and its effect on the changing seasons, click here:

Click here to see how the Winter Solstice also relates to this topic.