The Northern Hemisphere marks the spring equinox on Monday, March 20, 2017, at exactly 6:29 A.M. EDT. The equinox happens at the same moment worldwide, even if our clock times reflect a different time zone. What is an Equinox? At the Vernal Equinox, the Sun crosses the celestial equator on its way north along the ecliptic. All over the world, days and nights are approximately equal. The name equinox comes from Latin words which mean “equal night” aequus (equal). and nox (night). On the equinox, Earth’s two hemispheres are receiving the Sun’s rays about equally because the tilt of the Earth is zero relative to the Sun, which means that Earth’s axis neither points toward nor away from the Sun. (Note, however, that the Earth never orbits upright, but is always tilted on its axis by about 23.5 degrees.) Scientific explanation aside, our ancestors were more connected to the Sun than we are today. They observed its pathway across the sky; they tracked how the sunrise, sunset, and daylength changed, using the Sun (and Moon) as a clock and calendar. Stonehenge and Machu Picchu, are examples of ancient seasonal markers.

According to folklore, you can stand a raw egg on its end on the equinox. Is this true? Seems to be so, on most attempts. Try it yourself! We’ll end on a Spring verse: Spring-time sweet! The whole Earth smiles, thy coming to greet.