Far removed from a religious celebration the Spring equinox is an event that happens every year signaling spring in our hemisphere and autumn in the southern hemisphere. It’s a time when daylight equals nightfall. It’s an event in the sky that’s been observed by humans since humankind became observers of the sky. We were farmers, we were sailors, we hunted, we gathered, we lived with nature.
Think of a time when there were no city lights. Imagine how the night sky must have sparkled with stars, and the sun–sailing overhead in the daylight hours–was worshipped and warm and played a very important role in our lives. Still does. Of great importance to all, at the time of the equinox, it promised a return of nature’s fertility. The earths’ journey around the sun–although it wasn’t expressed that way then– was there for all to see. In March, all over the northern hemisphere, the sun begins to rise earlier and set later. This event can be measured, predicted, it always occurs, and everywhere in our hemisphere it is a time of great rejoicing.
This years in Hawaii, it happens on Saturday, March 19 at 6:30PM.
For Christians it’s called Easter. And in the Jewish faith it’s called Passover.
Pagans celebrate it as Ostara named after the Anglo-Saxon goddess, Eostre and it’s a celebration of spring. A time for planting and sowing a new crop.
A scientific explanation would go like this, “On the equinoxes the Sun shines directly on the equator and the length of day and night is nearly equal. The March equinox marks
the moment the Sun crosses the celestial equator – the imaginary line in the sky above the Earth’s equator – from south to north.” Fascinating charts, videos, observations all over the internet are well worth a watch.
I can remember when communities celebrated with an Easter Parade. An Easter bonnet, “…with all the frills upon it…” were the rage. One dressed up in Easter finery to attend church or go out to lunch or dinner to show-off.
Today, take a trip to the Mall and fill your sights and senses with candy, eggs, Easter bunnies and baskets. Ever wonder what that was all about? Eggs are a very powerful symbol of fertility, and spring is a season when animals mate and flowers bloom. It’s a time of renewal. Want to talk about rabbits? Many rabbits are nocturnal but in spring mating season they show up in the daytime. Did you know a doe can conceive a second liter while still pregnant with the first? And sometimes, when there are too many bucks and not enough does, the bucks go nuts and bounce around like ping-pong balls. March Hares go Mad.
I was always a confused, as a little kid, as to how rabbits ended up laying eggs. Does anyone know the answer to that?
Also, of course, it’s a wonderful excuse to spend money.
Whatever you do, enjoy. Enjoy. Smell the flowers. Smile a lot.
bettejo 
This is a very elegant and scientific way to explain the beginning of spring. I want to address the Easter bunnies, each spring I have two or three families of bunnies ( Mothers and their babies) show up in my back yard. Though this spring they have showed upthe week before Easter Sunday. Each year I have my granddaughter over and she wants to me dye and paint eggs with her, which I am happy to do. She does know that these eggs come from chickens since our neighbors had laying hens and we would go over to collect them. I also have marble eggs that she believes are fossilized dinosaur eggs that will never hatch. At 5 years old we have a pretend alligator pit, play super hero games ( they are always female ) and play pirates in the jungle growing in my back yard. Olivia has seen the bunnies in my yard and we will put out carrots and lettuce for them. This year her mom is going to give birth in May, so I am going to have to tell her the truth about where bunnies come from. I didn’t
start the myth her mother, father and other set of grandparents did. Olivia is an intellengent girl and understand a great deal more than then her parents give her credit for. I don’t think by telling her that the Easter bunny s a myth will bother her since the egg hunt and chocolates have become a competition for her more than anything else. It just makes me a little sad that she is growing up so fast. I will sill play fantasy games with her because she knows I am not a pirate or a princess. Though Never less I am still and always be King of my home.
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