Spring Begins
Spring Begins is a significant season that marks the transition from winter to summer, typically starting around March 21 in the northern temperate zones. This period is characterized by the vernal equinox, when day and night are approximately equal in duration, as the Sun crosses the celestial equator. The astronomical definition of seasons, including spring, is based on the Earth's position relative to the Sun, with spring occurring when the Sun enters the zodiac sign of Aries. Despite this astronomical framework, the actual weather can vary widely, with some regions experiencing winter-like conditions well into March.
Culturally, spring has been a source of inspiration across various societies and is often associated with themes of renewal and rebirth, influencing mythology, art, and religious practices. Ancient civilizations viewed spring as a time of growth and vitality, and this reverence continues today, evidenced by seasonal celebrations and festivals honoring nature's revival. In the Southern Hemisphere, spring occurs around September 21, showcasing the global diversity in seasonal experiences. Overall, spring is celebrated as a time of planting, growth, and the joyous return of life after the dormancy of winter.
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Spring Begins
In the United States, and the north temperate zones generally, the season of fresh growth and new life known as spring begins about March 21 of every year. The exact moment when the Sun is at the vernal equinox, officially signaling the change of seasons, varies slightly from year to year because of the oscillations and wobbling motions that the Earth manifests both in its rotation on its axis and in its elliptical course around the Sun.
The ecliptic, the plane in which the Earth revolves around the Sun, is divided into four 90 degree sections, each beginning with a definite point: two solstices and two equinoxes. The amount of time taken by the Sun to cover each of these divisions is termed a season. The season of spring begins at the vernal equinox when the Sun, as seen from the Earth, passes through the intersection of the ecliptic and the celestial equator, having then a longitude of exactly 0 degrees. Its rays extend from the North to the South Pole, and day and night are an equal twelve hours throughout the world.
In antiquity the start of the year was often reckoned from the vernal equinox, which was also chosen as the point from which to calculate and observe the twelve constellations of the zodiac, beginning with the sign of Aries. The vernal equinox has since been known as the first point of Aries, and spring is therefore said to begin when the sun enters the zodiac sign of Aries. Hipparchus, the second-century B.C. Greek astronomer whose calculations form the groundwork of the present zodiacal system, correctly estimated that because of the precession of the equinoxes (the retrograde motion of the equinoctial points), the vernal equinox moves slightly west each year. Therefore, the first point of Aries, which during Hipparchus's time was found in the constellation Aries, is now in Pisces, the next constellation to the west.
During the spring season, the Sun leaves the celestial equator and progresses along the ecliptic north of the equator. At the summer solstice, the Sun enters the zodiac sign of Cancer, having reached a longitude of 90 degrees and its maximum northerly ascent. The season of spring then ends. In terms of earthly weather, the four seasons do not invariably coincide with the astronomical seasons. In many parts of North America, where spring is popularly considered to comprise the months of March, April, and May, the climate of March may still be that of winter, and May can sometimes seem like summer. In Great Britain, spring is popularly thought to include February, March, and April.
The difference in the seasons, notably the consistent variation in weather, is caused by the tilt of the Earth's axis, as well as by its elliptical course around the Sun. When the North Pole inclines away from the Sun around December 21, the time of the winter solstice and the beginning of winter, the Sun's rays are slanted, solar heat is less concentrated, and temperatures consequently are low. By the end of spring the North Pole points directly toward the Sun, and the opposite conditions prevail. In the Southern Hemisphere, since the movement of the South Pole is opposite to that of the North Pole, the seasons are reversed. Astronomical spring starts there about September 21 and ends about December 21.
Spring, a transitional period between the extreme temperature cycles of winter and summer, is the chief season of planting and germination, when life, light, and apparent order in the universe once more prevail over what the ancients regarded as the chaos of the dark, barren winter season. Spring profoundly influenced the ancients and played an important role in mythology, folklore, and art. Ancient painters and sculptors often depicted spring as a female figure carrying flowers, especially in the Western world. The early Christians regarded the seasons as symbolic of the course of human life, seeing spring as rebirth or resurrection after the death that winter symbolized. The practice of adorning basilicas with symbolic representations of the seasons continued into the Middle Ages, culminating in the thirteenth century with the beautifully carved depictions of the seasons and the individual months in the French cathedrals of Paris, Chartres, and Reims. These spring scenes reveal the harsh realities of the laborer's everyday tasks in preparing the fields for cultivation and dressing the vineyards. Renaissance artists tended to view spring more lightheartedly: Sandro Botticelli's famous painting The Primavera is a prime example of the glorification of the joys of awakening nature.
Pleasure at the annual greening and blossoming of the landscape is still much in evidence today, particularly as reflected in the numerous flower festivals and house and garden tours that take place across the United States each year. The season is marked by all kinds of beginnings: seed plantings, graduations, and weddings. Even the season's major religious holidays epitomize the arrival of spring, at least indirectly. The Jewish Passover refers to renaissance, or, more exactly, release from physical and spiritual bondage and from the labors of winter. The Christian Easter (which may have borrowed its name from Eostre, Teutonic goddess of spring and fertility) is also a celebration of resurrection.
Bibliography
Aveni, Anthony F. The Book of the Year: A Brief History of Our Seasonal Holidays. Oxford UP, 2004.
Donegan, Brian. "First Day of Spring Is March 19: Here’s The Science Behind the Vernal Equinox." Fox Weather, 18 Mar. 2024, www.foxweather.com/learn/first-day-spring-march-20-vernal-equinox. Accessed 1 May 2024.
Kammen, Michael G. A Time to Every Purpose: The Four Seasons in American Culture. U of North Carolina P, 2004.
Redd, Nola Taylor. "Spring: Season of New Beginnings." LiveScience, 9 Mar. 2022, www.livescience.com/24728-spring.html. Accessed 1 May 2024.
"When Does Spring Start?" Met Office, 2024, www.metoffice.gov.uk/learning/seasons/spring/when-does-spring-start. Accessed 1 May 2024.