Far from being an arbitrary indicator of the changing seasons, March 20 (March 21 in some years) is significant for astronomical reasons. On March 20, 2009, at precisely 7:44
A.M. EDT , the Sun will cross directly over the Earth's equator. This moment is known as the vernal equinox in the Northern Hemisphere. For the Southern Hemisphere, this is the moment of the autumnal equinox. Translated literally,
equinox
means "equal night." Because the sun is positioned above the equator,
day and night are about equal in length all over the world during the
equinoxes.
From a technical standpoint the Vernal Equinox is an astronomical
event, it’s one of the four quadrature days of the Earth’s orbit.
However for people both modern and ancient, the Vernal Equinox marked
the transition from winter into spring. The Vernal Equinox occurs on
March 20th or 21st and is one of two days during the year when there
are 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of darkness, the other day is the
Autumnal Equinox.
People have been marking and celebrating the
Vernal Equinox for thousands of years. The Great Sphinx which was
constructed over 4500 years ago on the Giza Plateau in Egypt, faces due
east on the Vernal Equinox. The monoliths located at Stonehenge, which
are estimated to be over 3000 years old, mark the position of the
rising sun on the Vernal Equinox. In Central America the Ancient Mayan
Caracol Tower and Temples of the Sun and Moon also have alignments that
coincide with the sun’s position on the Vernal Equinox.
Most
historians believe that this knowledge was important to ancient
cultures in choosing a time to plant their crops. In Iran they
celebrate Norouz (which roughly translates to “new day”) on the Vernal
Equinox. In China they celebrate Chunfen on the Vernal Equinox. In
ancient Europe they celebrated the arrival of the goddess of spring
Ostara on this day. Ostara was also known as Ostera and Eostre in
different parts of Europe. Many historians believe the Christian
holiday Easter gets its name from Eostre, as she had an enchanted
rabbit that could lay eggs. In more modern times the Vernal Equinox
marked the first Earth Day celebration in 1971.
One of the odd
traditions that that occur on the Vernal Equinox is egg balancing. The
story goes that it is possible to balance a raw egg on its oblong end
on this day. There is no truth to this rumor it’s just as easy (or
hard) to balance an egg on its end on this day as it is any other day.
This story is perpetuated by the media who usually run a small segment
on it, during news shows on this day.
Media hype or not, as a kid I thought the balancing of eggs on the Equinox was great and magickal fun! I still do it, I did it this morning, as I sat here at my desk at work, with the folks around me asking why I was playing with my breakfast. Its a tradition now, that brings me back to simpler times, when one the actions of one little egg could keep me fascinated for days.
Hope you all get to go out and do something special today, to mark the beginning of the season of light!
Light and Love
Sister Bridget
