Wow! 2016 is flying by! Can you believe it’s already spring? I for one am very excited about all the great things happening this year. I’m looking forward to the warmer weather too. There are so many ways to enjoy spring. Let’s take a look a few of my favorite ways to celebrate the vernal equinox.
What is the Vernal Equinox?
The word equinox comes from Latin, equi meaning equal and nox meaning night. They come together to mean equal night. During an equinox the plane of the earth’s equator passes through the center of the sun. This causes day and night to be approximately equal in duration all over the entire planet. It also marks the first day of spring. Pretty cool huh? Afterward days will be longer than nights until the autumnal equinox.
Ways to Celebrate
It is celebrated many different ways around the world.
- In Germany the equinox is called Ostara. There they decorate eggs to usher in the spring and the new (farming) year.
- Here in the United States some boating towns on the east coast celebrate the first day of spring by burning socks. Spring marks the time to put away winter clothes. Instead of burning old clothes, put them to better use by donating to Goodwill or the Salvation Army.
- In Mexico people travel from miles around to visit Teotihuacán to climb the Pyramid of the Sun and welcome Spring. Sounds like a great day to go hiking.
- Getting outside is a great idea! Take a staycation and see what your town has to offer.
mountains by illustir (CC – BY 2.0) - Go for a bike ride.
- Visit the beach.
- For those of you that prefer to celebrate indoors. You can spruce up your home with a cool house plant or get started on some spring cleaning!
- Throughout the world it also known as World Story Telling Day. Get moving to your local library or bookstore to celebrate.
Hope you all have a beautiful first day of spring!
How are you celebrating the vernal equinox? Tell me about in the comments section below?