After a winter on the cooler side (something many of us welcome), it’s time to celebrate the first day of spring! The spring equinox occurred this morning, March 20, 2025, at 5:01 a.m. At that precise moment, the sun crossed the celestial equator (an imaginary line above Earth’s equator), causing both the Northern and Southern hemispheres to receive equal amounts of sunlight.
The spring season traditionally brings forth the sentiment of rejuvenation and renewal; new beginnings lie directly ahead.
While preparing for the warmer days ahead, here are a few interesting facts about the first day of spring:
There are other names for the spring equinox
In the Northern Hemisphere, the spring equinox is also referred to as both the March equinox and the vernal equinox. Vernal means “spring” in Latin.
The word equinox is derived from Latin
Equinox comes from the Latin words for “equal” and “night.” As the sun crosses over the equator, the hours of daylight and nighttime are almost equal. The equinoxes, of which there are two every calendar year, are the only times when the sun rises directly due east and sets directly due west for everyone on Earth.
March is time for the “worm moon”
The first day of spring invokes a season of renewal and new growth, both literally and figuratively. March showers may bring April and May flowers, but they also bring earthworms up and out of the soil. When the spring rains begin, it drives earthworms close to the surface. Thus, the full moon in March is referred to as the ‘worm moon”.
The Spring Equinox Tradition involving eggs
The spring equinox is not only the first day of spring; folklore claims that certain magnetic and energetic changes on the day of the vernal equinox make it possible to stand a raw egg on its end. Magical, right? As cool as this sounds, it is a myth. You may be able to balance some raw eggs on their end, but this can be possible at any time of the year.
Other planets also have equinoxes
Earth is special on many ways, but not when it comes to equinoxes. In fact, every planet in the solar system has an equinox, which occurs when the planet’s orbit and tilt, with respect to the sun, result in both hemispheres receiving about the same amount of light.
We use the spring equinox to determine the date of Easter
Unlike many of the holidays we celebrate, the exact date of Easter changes from year to year. Because Easter celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ, Christian churches give great importance to the manner in which Easter Day is determined. It’s so important, according to Panos Antsaklis, PhD, a professor at Notre Dame University, that in the fourth century A.D., a group of Christian leaders came together to officially decide how to calculate Easter’s date. Their decision: Easter would be celebrated on the first Sunday after the first full moon following the vernal equinox.
Sources: The Washington Post, Bustle, Britannia, National Geographic, Panos Antsaklis, PhD.
