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 towards the equator. The sun goes out southern hemisphere to the north, and 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, many peoples and nationalities of the Earth begin New Year: 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. Navruz has been announced in a number of countries 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.
Since ancient times, people have known what an equinox is, although the physical essence of the phenomenon could only be explained with the advent of astronomy. There are two days a year - the spring and autumn equinox, which are very important. At this time, the Sun passes a certain point where the ecliptic and equator intersect.
Astronomical event
For astronomy, the days of the solstice and equinox play an important role. So what is the equinox and why does it occur?
As is known, an astronomical event is associated with the inclination of the axis of our planet and the orbit of the star. The Earth is tilted at 23.5 degrees and has a Southern and Northern Hemisphere that receive almost equal amounts of light. Because of this, the length of day and night is almost equal throughout the planet, with the exception of certain areas. But twice a year the lighting is uniform throughout the entire planet. After these two days a year, the nights in the Northern Hemisphere become longer and the days become shorter.
Usually sunlight reaches the surface of the planet only at one pole, while it is night at the other. And only on the days of the equinox do the rays of the Sun reach both poles so that they illuminate half of the planet, while the other half remains night.
Dates
The equinox number always shifts. This is due to the fact that the Earth rotates around our star not in a circle, but in an ellipse. As a result of this movement, the spring equinox falls on March 20-12, and the autumn equinox on September 22-23. The day itself is equal in duration to the night.
The vernal equinox
One of the unique natural phenomena is the spring equinox. At this moment the Sun crosses the celestial equator. During the movement of the Earth and the Sun, a moment arises when the rays of the luminary fall vertically on the equator. During the transition of the Sun from one hemisphere of the planet to another, day and night remain equal.
The day of the equinox is considered to be the beginning of the astronomical season. The interval from spring to spring day considered a tropical year. It has approximately 365.24 days. Because of this partial 366th day, the day moves forward by almost six hours.
What is the equinox for people and how does it affect the planet? For many peoples, the New Year begins on the day of the spring equinox. This day is of great importance for Iran, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Afghanistan. Some other Silk Road countries also associate the beginning of the new year with this natural phenomenon.
On this day, darkness and light are equal. There was a time when there were no calendars. At that time, the beginning of spring was determined precisely by the day of the equinox. It is believed that from this day the renewal of nature begins - the trees wake up, the first thunder can be heard, greenery begins to grow.
On the occasion of the spring equinox, our ancestors rolled burning wheels down a hill as a sign of respect to the Sun, its symbol. Celebrations took place all over the country - people burned bonfires, jumped over them, danced, and played tug of war. On the spring equinox, they prepared baked goods and treated them to loved ones, relatives, and gave them as gifts to their ancestors.
Autumn day
What is the equinox and when does it occur, as celebrated by the peoples of the world? An autumn day coincides with a large number of different celebrations.
In Ancient Greece, a beautiful legend was associated with the autumn equinox, according to which the goddess of fertility Persephone returns to Hades in the underworld. On this day, various magical rituals should be performed and the successes and failures of the past months should be assessed.
In China, the Autumn Festival, or Moon Festival, is held on this day. This day celebrates the abundance of the harvest. Traditionally, moon pie is prepared on this day, to which goose eggs, lotus, dried fruits, and sesame are added.
Higan is celebrated in Japan. Usually on this day the Japanese commemorate the deceased and decorate their graves. Higan began to be celebrated back in the nineteenth century.
In mid-autumn, the pagans celebrated Mabon - a holiday of the cycle of the seasons. It marks the harvest of the second harvest, the beginning of winter preparations. It was customary on this day to “go out into nature”, collect leaves and seeds.
After the equinox, when our star moves to the Northern Hemisphere from the Southern, an astronomical change of seasons begins on Earth. So, spring comes to the Northern Hemisphere, and autumn comes to the Southern Hemisphere.
On the days of the equinox on the planet, day and night are equal to 12 hours. Although this statement has a small caveat, because at the North Pole and in the southern regions time is running otherwise. The “almost” equal day and night are not actually equal. If you carry out precise mathematical calculations, the day turns out to be longer than the night. Its duration is 12 hours 12 minutes.
Since ancient times, people have known what an equinox is and how the Sun moves across the sky. These days the star rises strictly in the east and sets strictly in the west. After the spring equinox, the Sun will begin to rise higher, and the length of the day will increase. In autumn, the process occurs in the opposite direction: the days become shorter and the nights longer.
Our ancestors believed that on the days of the equinox you could find out your husband’s name and make wishes that would come true.
Spring is the time of awakening of nature, when everything around wakes up after a long hibernation. But spring is also a time full of mysteries and secrets, one of which is the vernal equinox, a date that our ancestors considered special in the annual cycle. What date is the vernal equinox, why was it so important in the past and what significance does this event have now - all this is discussed in our article.
date
Spring equinox - what is it? The answer to this question lies in the very name of the holiday: the time when day is equal to night. From an astronomical point of view, it looks like this: the line dividing the illuminated and unlit parts of the planet runs strictly along the poles, at right angles to the equator.
Regardless of the annual cycle, whether it is a leap year or not, the vernal equinox always falls on the same date - March 20. Yes, there are deviations from this date, but they are extremely rare - for example, in the 21st century, the first such deviation will be only in 2096; this year the equinox falls on March 19th.
Quirks of the calendar
Did you know that the entire Gregorian calendar - the calendar we all use today - was built around the vernal equinox? Yes, yes, it was from this day that the countdown of the new year began. True, at the time when this calendar was put into effect - and this was the 15th century - the equinox fell on March 21. So, in a sense, this day can still be called a holiday.
There are two days in the annual cycle when day is equal to night - these are the spring and autumn equinoxes. In 2019, autumn falls on September 23. By the way, due to the difference in seasons, for those living in the countries of the southern hemisphere, September 23 will be considered the date of the vernal equinox. Paradoxical, isn't it?
This event is the date of the beginning of astronomical spring, that is, from the position of astronomy as a science, the new season begins not on the first, but on the twentieth of March. The same goes for autumn equinox– this point serves as the beginning of the countdown of astronomical autumn.
On this day, the sun rises exactly in the east and sets exactly in the west (deviations from geographical points are a fraction of minutes, that is, so insignificant that they can be neglected). The situation is similar with the date of the autumn equinox.
Equinox - a special day
This date is considered special for almost every nation. Judge for yourself - a huge number of countries have some holidays “attached” to March 19-23, their roots going back to the deep past. This is the well-known Navruz or Nauryz, celebrated by the Turkic peoples, and Magpies or Larks among the Slavs, and Higan in Japan. The Annunciation in Orthodoxy also falls at the end of March, and Sabantuy, widely celebrated by the Tatars and Bashkirs, once also fell in the second half of March.
The fact that at the beginning of spring there is a time when the day is equal in length to the night, and the sun rises at a strictly defined point, was noticed in ancient times. Many archaeological monuments of the past are associated with the day of the equinox - Stonehenge, the pyramids of Egypt, buildings of the Aztecs and Mayans, temples of India and China. Many signs and customs associated with this event have survived to this day.
Traditions and customs
Initially, this day was filled with a special meaning - at this time Light and Darkness, Good and Evil, Heat and Cold met in a duel. Naturally, the good side won, because after the equinox the days became longer and the nights became shorter, warmth returned to the earth after winter cold, nature woke up, the forest and mountains, steppes and meadows were filled with sounds. Many customs were associated with these beliefs, some of which have survived to this day.
On the night before the equinox, it was customary to burn bonfires - yes, all night long - to help Light defeat Darkness. But at the same time, it was not advisable to leave the house - at least, you should spend as little time as possible on the street and certainly not wander around in the dark without a torch or candle. Dark forces They are insidious and, before inevitable defeat, they will certainly try to take revenge on people, to recoup their loss. But the holiday of the beginning of spring should certainly be celebrated noisily and cheerfully - so that all nature would rejoice along with people at the arrival of warmth and sun.
Equinox - day full of secrets. It is not surprising that at this time it was customary to guess. But not on the bride or groom, but on whether the coming year will be prosperous or unlucky. Each nation had its own fortune-telling, but, of course, our Slavic ones are closer to us. So, for example, housewives baked a pea or a small pebble, sometimes a coin, in a “bake” - pies, flat cakes, buns in the shape of small birds, which were customary to bake on Zhavoronki. Whichever family member gets the coin will have good luck all year.
Look video about the rituals of the Vernal Equinox:
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.
In the east and south of the district you can again count on +25!Indian Summer comes out for an encore
Today 11:40
Yesterday the Indian summer reached its culmination: in Moscow the air warmed up to +21.6, in Central Russia it was up to +24.5. This is more consistent with a normal summer than an Indian summer. Today the weather pattern begins to change, but only in the northwestern sector of the Central District.
Sunny day in early autumn. © Tomasz Parys | Shutterstock.com
The anticyclone continues to control the situation, holding back the advance atmospheric front from the west. Thus, for those who did not have time to enjoy the Indian summer yesterday, nature gives another warm day.
Even in the northwestern regions, where the colors of the weather will be blurred by clouds and light rains, you can still catch the last notes of Indian summer, with temperatures of +15...+20.
And in the east and south of the district, where the sky remains sunny, you can again count on +25!
When day equals night
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 "equinoctium". In this sense, the Germans, using 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 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. After all, in January Earth passes the point of 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!
