Spring equinox day (20/03)

The spring equinox (Vernal Equinox) — is one of the most unique phenomena of nature, the essence of which, in scientific terms, boils down to the fact that « at the moment of the equinox, the center of the Sun in its visible movement along the ecliptic crosses the celestial equator».

Time depends on time zone. In 2023, the spring equinox occurs on March 20 at 9:45 pm GMT. In the main territory of Russia this will happen on March 21.

To put it simply, on this day the Earth, rotating around its imaginary axis passing through the poles, while simultaneously moving around the Sun, is in such a position in relation to the star that the sun's rays carrying thermal energy fall vertically onto the equator. The sun moves from the southern hemisphere to the northern, and on these days in all countries the day is almost equal to night.

The spring and autumn equinoxes are considered the astronomical beginning of the corresponding seasons. The time interval between the two equinoxes of the same name is called a tropical year. This year is today adopted for measuring time. There are approximately 365.2422 solar days in a tropical year. Because of this, the «approximately» equinox occurs at different times of the day every year, moving forward by about 6 hours every year.

On the Day of the Spring Equinox, the New Year begins for many peoples and nationalities of the Earth: Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan — almost all countries of the Great Silk Road associate the beginning of the new year with this natural phenomenon.

On this day, light and darkness are divided equally. In ancient times, when there were no calendars, spring was determined by the sun. It was believed that it was from this day that renewals in nature began: the first spring thunder, swelling of buds in trees, wild germination of greenery.

The day of the spring equinox was especially revered in the pagan faith. It was believed that on this day, in the annual cycle, Spring, which personifies the revival and revival of nature, replaces Winter.

As you know, when the Sun moves from the northern hemisphere to the southern, the autumn equinox — occurs on September 22 or 23.

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