The day of the vernal equinox (Spring Equinox) is one of the most unique natural phenomena, the essence of which, in scientific language, 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.”
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 luminary 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.
There are spring and autumn equinoxes. Universal time (in other time zones these dates may differ by a day) in the northern hemisphere spring equinox occurs 20th of March when the Sun moves from the southern hemisphere to the northern, and autumn equinox occurs September 22 or 23(in 2019 - September 23), when the Sun moves from the northern hemisphere to the southern. In the southern hemisphere, on the contrary, the March equinox is considered autumn, and the September equinox is considered spring.
The spring and autumn equinoxes are considered the astronomical beginning of the respective seasons. The period of time between two equinoxes of the same name is called the tropical year. This year is today and is accepted for measuring time. There are approximately 365.2422 sunny days in a tropical year. It is because of this “approximately” that the equinox falls at a different time of day every year, each year moving forward by about 6 hours.
On the Day of the Vernal Equinox, the New Year begins for many peoples and nationalities of the Earth: Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan - almost all the countries of the Great Silk Road associate the beginning of the New Year with this natural phenomenon.
The ancient scientists of China, India, and Egypt knew very well about the days of the vernal equinox. In ancient times, the day of the spring equinox was considered a great holiday.
In religion in ancient times, the day of the vernal equinox was also given considerable importance. The date of Easter, which is celebrated every year at different times, was counted from the day of the vernal equinox as follows: March 21 - the first full moon - the first Sunday, which was considered a holiday.
Many peoples have preserved the day of the vernal equinox as a holiday in the calendar. For example, in Farsi it is called , which means “new day.” Rooted in the traditions of ancient farmers of the Middle East and Central Asia, the holiday has become an integral part of the culture of many peoples professing Islam.
In the CIS, the equinox day is celebrated as a national holiday by Tatars, Kazakhs, Bashkirs, Kyrgyz, Tajiks, Uzbeks and many other peoples. In a number of countries, Navruz has been declared a public holiday, and March 21 is a day off.
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 renewal in nature began: the first spring thunder, the swelling of buds on the trees, the lush sprouting of greenery.
The day of the vernal equinox was especially revered in the pagan faith. It was believed that on this day in the annual cycle, Spring, personifying the revival and rebirth of nature, replaces Winter.
When the Sun moves from the northern hemisphere to the southern hemisphere, the autumn equinox occurs.
When talking about equinox dates, we should distinguish between a date based on universal time and a date for a specific time zone:
if the equinox occurs before 12:00 universal time, in some countries located west of the prime meridian, this day may not yet have arrived and according to local time, the arrival of the equinox will be considered 1 day earlier;
if the equinox occurs later than 12:00 universal time, then in some countries located east of the prime meridian, the next day may already have arrived and the date of the equinox will be 1 more.
According to the creators of the Gregorian calendar, the “official” date of the vernal equinox is March 21 (literally “12 days before the Kalends of April”), since this was the date of the vernal equinox during the Council of Nicaea.
The last time in this century the spring equinox fell on March 21 in 2007 and further in the 21st century it will fall on March 20 or even March 19.
The equinox is the time when day is equal to night. At the moment when the Sun crosses the equator from south to north - this is the day of the spring equinox, and from north to south - the autumn equinox. At this time, the Sun is directly above the Earth's equator. The word comes from the Latin equi or equal and the Greek nyx or Latin nox, meaning equal night.
Equinoxes and solstices
The equinoxes occur at the intersection of the ecliptic and the celestial equator. On September 23, the Sun moves down from the celestial equator and crosses it - the autumnal equinox, and on March 21, when it moves upward, it is the spring equinox. On these days, the Earth's axis is not inclined towards the Sun or far from it, and therefore the circle of illumination cuts all latitudes in half, which leads to the same length of this day throughout the Earth.
In both cases, the solar circle of illumination conventionally bisects the equator. The equator is an imaginary line with a latitude of 0 degrees that divides the planet into the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. This is the only place on earth where day is equal to night always, every day of the year.
The Earth is tilted, the maximum angular deviation towards the Sun is 23.5 degrees. The day of June 21 with a positive deviation of the Sun relative to the celestial equator is called the summer solstice, and December 21 with a negative deviation is called the winter solstice.
Simply put, the equinoxes represent the days when day is equal to night (March 21 and September 23), while the solstice represents the shortest days (December 21) and the longest days (June 21).
The equinoxes, together with the solstices, are directly related to the seasons of the year.
Equinox - the name is deceptive
If the Earth's axis were perpendicular to its orbital plane, the entire Earth would have equal lengths of day and night. A real sunny day has different durations, with fluctuations of up to 15 minutes.
There are three reasons for this timing difference:
- The movement of the Earth around the Sun is not a perfect circle, but eccentric.
- The apparent motion of the Sun is not parallel to the celestial equator.
- The phenomenon of precession of the Earth's axis.
In addition, the Earth undergoes two different types of motion:
- around the Sun in a fixed orbit, a journey that takes exactly 365.26 days (year);
- around its axis - forming day and night.
To complete one daily revolution, it takes not exactly 24 hours, as we used to think, but 23.93 hours.
The Earth is spherical, so the half facing the Sun is illuminated, while the other half is at night. The day/night cycle is continuous, except at the Earth's poles, where day and night are thought to last for half a year.
In fact, this is not true, they are not equal. Just as the conventional wisdom is incorrect at the equator, where day equals night all year round, then at the equator one would expect the Sun to rise at 6:00 am and set at 6:00 pm. In fact, it rises at the equator at 6:03 am in July, 6:11 am in February, 5:53 am in May and 5:40 am in late October.
This phenomenon of actual "non-equinox" is caused by the fact that the Earth's axis is tilted at an angle of 23.4 degrees. The “inequality” of day and night is also influenced by the phenomenon of refraction. Refraction is the refraction of sunlight through the atmosphere, which visually lengthens the day. Because of this phenomenon, the top edge of the Sun can be visible even if it is just below the horizon. For example, it is usually visible in the morning a few minutes before the actual sunrise. This phenomenon is influenced by atmospheric pressure and temperature.
Therefore, the real duration of the “day” for the North Pole reaches 193 days, and the night - up to 172 days and, accordingly, for the South Pole - day lasts 172 days and night lasts 193 days.
Earth's Precession Movement
Due to the very slow movement of the firmament (actually the earth's axis moves), the equinoctial Sun, when day is equal to night, moves from one zodiac sign to another approximately every 2160 years, completing its entire revolution in approximately 25,920 years. This very slow movement of the sky is called the precession of the equinoxes. The precession of the equinoxes is the movement of the Earth, which results in a change in the orientation of the rotation axis.
The first estimate of earth's precession was made by Hipparchus in 130 BC. e.
The Earth's axis precesses due to the superposition of such factors:
- Its shape is not completely spherical (it is an oblate spheroid protruding at the equator).
- The gravitational forces of the Moon and the Sun acting on the equatorial protrusion try to return it to the ecliptic plane.
Consequences of precession:
- shift of the equinoxes;
- movement of the celestial poles;
- displacement of astrological zodiac constellations.
The daytime and nighttime equinoxes are not the same length; their dates vary depending on latitude.
The forces of nature are harmonious and consistent. Ancient peoples were very attentive to the seasons and the position of the Sun in the sky because their lives depended on timely planting and harvesting.
Our ancestors have long celebrated the days of the solstice and equinox, when day is equal to night, as special holidays. Many great Orthodox holidays are still in close proximity to these dates: Christmas (winter solstice) and Easter (spring equinox).
The equinox, that is, the time when the length of day and night are equal, occurs twice a year - in spring and autumn. The change of times in the modern world is determined by the calendar, but in ancient times these days were considered the change of seasons.
Scientists consider the vernal equinox to be the astronomical beginning of spring, which lasts three months until the summer solstice - in 2019 it falls on June 21.
Therefore, since ancient times, people have considered the day of the spring equinox a long-awaited and mystical event.
When day equals night
The spring equinox arrives when the Sun moves from the southern hemisphere of the celestial sphere to the northern. At this time, the Earth, moving in its orbit, will cover a quarter of the year's journey. The equal duration of light and dark time of day is explained by the fact that the two hemispheres will be illuminated exactly half by the luminary.
The seasons of the hemispheres change from the day of the spring equinox. From this time on, astronomical spring begins in the northern hemisphere of the Earth, and astronomical autumn begins in the southern hemisphere. And this continues until the summer solstice.
Six months later, when the Sun, having continued its movement, moves from the southern hemisphere to the northern, the equinox will occur again, but the Sun at this time is on the opposite side of the orbit.
The date of the vernal equinox is historically considered to be March 21. At the First Ecumenical Council in 325, it was on this day that a general rule was adopted to determine the day of Easter celebration.
According to the rule, Christians celebrate the Bright Resurrection of Christ on the first Sunday after the spring full moon, but not earlier than the spring equinox.
The spring equinox falls on different dates every year, since it does not have a fixed day or hour and shifts by almost six hours every year. Due to the fact that the astronomical year differs from the calendar year, the vernal equinox may fall from March 19 to March 21.
In leap years, the earliest dates of the equinoxes are observed, and the latest are observed in the years that precede the leap years. During a leap year, time is adjusted and the equinox returns to its original date.
Traditions and customs
Since ancient times, many peoples of the world have considered the day of the vernal equinox a great holiday - magical and ritual. Spring festivals in ancient and medieval times were celebrated with joy and rituals invoking the fertility of the earth and the well-being of the people.
The Great Sphinx was built by the ancient Egyptians so that during the spring equinox it pointed directly at the rising sun.
Many peoples have kept this holiday in their calendar to this day. The holiday of Navruz, which in Farsi means “new day,” has its roots in the tradition of the ancient farmers of Central Asia and the Middle East.
For many peoples who profess Islam, the holiday has become an integral part of their culture - the day of the equinox is celebrated as a national holiday by the Kyrgyz, Kazakhs, Tajiks, Tatars, Uzbeks, Bashkirs and many others.
On the day of the vernal equinox, the New Year is celebrated in many eastern countries, including Afghanistan and Iran.
Among the Germans and Celts, the vernal equinox was associated with the rebirth of spring and indicated the beginning of the agricultural season. Housewives, in order to please the goddess Ostara (one of the most “ancient” goddesses, who was worshiped at the end of the 2nd millennium BC) and to welcome spring in a special way, painted eggs and baked wheat buns.
The Slavic holiday Komoeditsa-Maslenitsa is also timed to coincide with the spring equinox - on this day people said goodbye to winter and welcomed spring, which embodies the rebirth of nature. In the old days, people believed that the more fun the holiday was, the more generous nature would be to them.
The day of the spring equinox in Rus' was called “Magpies” because at that time many birds flew in, namely 40, and the lark, which returned first, was considered a symbol of the holiday.
On this day, according to an ancient custom, cookies were baked in the shape of a bird and given from the entire village to the one who saw the lark first. Then the remaining sweets were distributed to the children so that they could invite the larks, who, according to legend, would bring spring with them.
In many countries this day is magical, as it is the only one of the year when spring meets spring. Usually at this time they tell fortunes and solemnly burn an effigy of winter, welcoming the long-awaited spring.
Signs
On the day of the spring equinox, according to signs, they monitor the weather, and if it is warm on this day, then there will be no cold or frost until summer.
The day of the spring equinox is best spent with your family or with a loved one - on this day you cannot quarrel, get upset, or sort things out with loved ones.
In order to spend the whole next year without worries and not think about bad things, the day of spring balance should be celebrated cheerfully. People believe that a wish made on this day will definitely come true.
On the day of the spring equinox, they tell fortunes about love - they tell fortunes using Tarot cards, classical cards, runes, and oracles. And in order to get an accurate answer, at the moment of fortune telling you should concentrate and ask a specific question.
Since the holiday was preceded by Maslenitsa (in 2017 from February 20 to 26 inclusive), many girls use similar fortune telling. So, for example, on this day they also baked pancakes, and if the first pancake was not lumpy, then they believed that they would get married this year.
On the spring equinox, girls told fortunes about the gender of their first child; to do this, they kept track of who would take the first pancake from the festive table. If it was a man, they were expecting a boy, and if it was a woman, they were expecting a girl.
People considered dreams on the spring equinox to be prophetic, so girls used to tell fortunes about their husbands before going to bed. To do this, two aces - a spades and a diamonds - were placed under the pillow, as well as a ten of clubs, a ring, a key and a piece of pie, having previously wrapped all the items in a white scarf.
The future was judged the next morning, depending on what was dreamed about: a ring for an imminent wedding, a key or bread for success in work, a pie for luck and joy, a card of spades for trouble, a diamond card for wealth, club - for moving.
The spring equinox is a magical period, a time for the manifestation of feelings, and if you have long wanted to confess your feelings to your loved one, you need to do it on this day.
The material was prepared based on open sources
Twice a year, on the days of the autumn (September 22-23) and spring (March 20-21) equinoxes, the Earth turns towards the Sun in such a way that the sun's rays fall vertically on the equator. And then, all over the globe - at the poles and at the equator, in temperate latitudes and in the tropics - the length of day and night becomes the same. It is curious that in Latin this event is called “ aequinoctium", which translates as "equinocity". In this sense, the Germans who use the word " Tagundnachtgleiche” (“equality of day and night”) turned out to be more logical.
Autumn in the northern hemisphere. Artens | Shutterstock.com
On the day of the autumn equinox, the Sun crosses the equator and goes into the southern half of the celestial sphere. From this moment on, astronomical autumn begins throughout the entire northern hemisphere of the Earth, and darkness takes away more and more minutes from the light every day! The shortest day of the year, which falls on December 21 or 22, marks the beginning of astronomical winter. After this, daylight gradually increases and by the beginning of the third ten days of March it becomes equal to night. On the day of the vernal equinox, autumn comes again on our planet, only this time in the southern hemisphere...
Yellowed leaves. Calin Stan | Shutterstock.com
An interesting fact is that autumn and winter in the northern hemisphere are a week shorter than the autumn and winter season in the southern hemisphere. Since the number of days from the spring equinox to the autumn equinox is 186, and the time interval from the autumn to the spring equinox is only 179 days! The fact is that in the winter of the northern hemisphere the Earth moves around the celestial body somewhat faster than in the winter of the southern hemisphere. Indeed, in January the globe passes the point of its orbit closest to the Sun - perihelion. And at perihelion, as is known, the linear speed of the planet increases! Therefore, we, residents of northern latitudes, are in a more favorable position than residents of southern latitudes, whose dark and cold seasons are longer by as much as 7 days!
Spring is coming in Australia. Bui Viet Hung | Shutterstock.com
However, the moment is approaching when we are forced to pass the baton of spring and summer to the inhabitants of the southern hemisphere. This will happen tomorrow. In the meantime, let's enjoy the last hours of the passing astronomical summer, especially since the weather is conducive to it!
An equinox is an astronomical period when the center of the Sun “crosses” the celestial equator, while it is completely perpendicular to the Earth's equator. If we talk about the northern hemisphere, then at the autumn equinox, namely on September 22 or 23, the Sun moves from the northern hemisphere to the southern. And at this time the day is almost equal to the night, which is why it got its name. And the Sun rises almost directly in the east and sets directly in the west.
Each nation celebrates this day in its own way, having its own traditions. For example, in Rus' it is customary to bake cabbage or lingonberry pies, organize festivities, and insert rowan tassels between window frames as a talisman. And among the Celts it is a harvest festival, a holiday of autumn and wisdom. And they have their own rituals - they first show everyone the best gifts of summer, and then eat them, which guarantees enough food for the whole year.
Autumn breaks up with summer,
She sometimes cries, sometimes she laughs,
Then suddenly it starts to rain,
Then suddenly everything will be flooded with sunshine,
Equinox of nature,
Variety of weather!
Day today is equal to night,
Tomorrow it will become shorter
But that's tomorrow, and now,
Happy equinox to all of you!
And although nature fades away,
Don't let this scare you,
She needs to rest too
Gain new strength, take a nap,
And I, in autumn bad weather,
I wish you LOVE and HAPPINESS!
Autumn is in the yard,
The leaves are gilded with a brush,
And today is day and night
Exactly the same!
The equinox has arrived
A star fell from the sky,
Let her bring you
Happiness, joy for the whole year!
Today the day has become equal to the night,
Autumn sends us its greetings.
I wish you a magical day
I wish you health and many years to come.
Equinox today -
A magical day, not an easy one.
May a surprise be sent to you
By wayward fate.
On the autumn equinox,
I congratulate you,
Peace, harmony
I wish in my heart.
Let the foliage cover
From troubles and insults,
And the path to balance
Will be open.
The day of the autumnal equinox is today,
And there is no reason to be sad.
It's time to send your soul into flight,
She should soar with joy.
I want smiles on this day to see the sea,
Let the veil of lies disappear forever.
So that your families prosper,
Let their hearts drink in love.
Today we will celebrate the holiday.
After all, day and night are equal again!
Winter is not far away,
Don't borrow heat from us!
The equinox is now
Let the sun shine in the skies
To give us a reserve of strength,
To live like in fairy-tale dreams!
The day has settled on the scales
The second night settled in,
Happy children of the universe,
Noisy son and quiet daughter.
The minutes were divided in half,
The two divided the hours,
Autumn equinox day
You gave us a gift today.
I wish that nights and days
You filled me to the brim with happiness,
So that we can live in harmony
And the minutes of love were not counted.
Autumn is playing outside the window,
I brushed the leaves off the apple tree,
Equinox is visiting us
Stopped by for a day.
Day and night do not argue at all -
On this autumn day.
The sun rose above the earth,
The Quarter takes its source again!
May you achieve it in life
You're the same height
Let it be like the sun at its zenith
You always shine for people!
Day and night have already come together as equals,
So, we have crossed that threshold,
When summer was full,
And now it’s an autumn evening
Reminded us that frost is near,
The cold, the cold will soon be here,
Autumn will take possession of the lush garden,
And shake off his confident arrogance.
Give me your hand, let's sit with you,
On a park bench by the stream,
We are always - both summer and winter,
We'll be together - just you and me!
Congratulations: 25 in verse.
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