![]() ![]() Today, we celebrate the equinox as an astronomical event caused by Earth’s tilt on its axis and its motion in orbit around the Sun. ![]() Additionally, earlier civilizations built the first observatories, like Stonehenge in Wiltshire, England, and the Intihuatana stone in Machu Picchu, Peru, to follow the Sun’s annual progress. They knew that the Sun’s path across the sky, length of daylight, and location of sunrise and sunset all shifted in a regular way throughout the year. The people of ancient cultures used the sky as a clock and calendar. The festival of the sun, when day and night are of equal length. We will also feel cooler days with chillier winds, and dry, falling leaves. On March 20th we celebrate Spring Equinox here in the Northern Hemisphere. March equinox, the spring equinox in the Northern Hemisphere September equinox, the spring equinox in the Southern Hemisphere Other uses. In the Northern hemisphere, the September equinox marks the start of a period bringing us later sunrises and earlier sunsets. Spring equinox or vernal equinox or variations may refer to. But on these special days – the spring and fall equinoxes – the Sun shines almost equally on the Northern and Southern hemispheres. That’s because Earth’s axis is tilted with respect to the Sun-Earth plane. The rest of the year, the Sun shines unevenly over the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. This only happens twice in Earth’s year-long trip around the Sun. Spring twilight at the North Pole begins a few weeks before the vernal, or spring, equinox in March, when the Sun rises above the horizon again. Credit: NASA/JPL-CaltechĪlong with marking the beginning of astronomical fall, the Sun will be exactly above Earth’s equator, moving from north to south, making day and night nearly equal in length – about 12 hours – throughout the world.Īt the North Pole, over the upcoming days, the Sun will sink below the horizon for a kind of twilight from now until sometime in October when it will be completely dark, according to NASA solar scientist Mitzi Adams. Last year, the equinox made an earlier-than-usual arrival. Spring break is always a reason to celebrate, but. Spring equinox 2021 arrives on Saturday, March 20, bringing its nearly perfect balance of daytime and nighttime all around the world. During the equinoxes, both hemispheres receive equal amounts of daylight. As you can imagine, the emotional meaning of the 2021 spring equinox goes far beyond Mother Natures colorful backdrop and extra hour of sunlight. An illustration of the March (spring) and September (fall or autumn) equinoxes. 1, however, the September (or fall) equinox gives us the green light to welcome the astronomical fall season in the Northern Hemisphere (and astronomical spring season in the Southern Hemisphere). The Silver birch (Betula pendula) is extensive throughout Europe, while the Swamp birch (Betula pubescens) can be found in North and Central Europe.In meteorology, the fall season begins on Sept. ![]() Home and yard are swept clean with brooms made of birch twigs.Īt Beltane, the May Day tree is often a beautiful decorated young birch tree, under which folks celebrate spring and the awakening of nature!Īs true survivors, birch trees have been indigenous to Europe since the Ice Age. Also known as the „rod of life“, birch twigs are still used in some rural areas in Europe for fertility rituals: livestock and home are ritually protected with them. Some of the Pre-Christian customs have survived to this day. German folklore tells of witches flying on brooms made of birch twigs on Walpurgis Night! In Siberian shamanism, the birch plays a major role as the „world tree“.īirchwood can be used for making magic wands. In past times it was the symbol of the young Goddess: in Ireland, the birch tree was a symbol of Goddess Brigid, in Norse mythology, birch was consecrated to Goddess Freya. ![]()
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