Even though I (and the weather people) have declared it to be spring since the 1st of March, today marks the astronomical first day spring in the Northern Hemisphere. If you’ve followed this blog over the years, you’ve probably heard me talk about how you can stand an egg on it’s end at the time of the equinox, and also that a broom will stand alone, upright all by itself. If you check past years entries, you’ll find that I devoted a fair amount of time to these activities and they’re both “folklore.” Check this blog’s archives for the “proof.”
But today, March 19 is the spring equinox, or if you please, the March equinox or vernal equinox. What makes it special is that this equinox (on March 19) is the earliest spring in the last 124 years. You faithful readers know that something like this can’t go by without some extensive research.
I remember that not that many years ago, spring began on March 21. So what happened? This gets a little complicated, so be patient — it also involves the calendar. For some reason the calendar keeps coming up in this blog more and more often.
Back in February, 2000, for the first time in four centuries, there was a February 29 (leap day) in a century year. We all know that years divisible by four are leap years. This year, 2020 is a leap year. But if a year is divisible by 100, it skips being a leap year — so, in 1700, 1800, and 1900 there was no February 29. The way our calendar is set up, most century years skip February 29 — but — if the year is divisible by 400, it will be a leap year and February will have 29 days. So 2000 was a leap year with the added day in February.
Pay close attention now — equinoxes and solstices happen earlier and earlier as each century wears on. Each summer and winter should begin on the 21st of the month, but as every century wears on, the date slips earlier to the 20th and possibly even the 19th, but this “slippage” gets corrected by the omission of the leap day during the next century year, like 1700, 1800 and 1900. Elimination of that day creates a sudden “jump” of one day, with the first day of spring, summer and winter pushed to the 21st again.
If you’re still with me… the year 2000 had a leap day. Because of that “once every four century ’tweak’ equinoxes were prevented from returning to the 21st, so they continue to occur earlier. The equinox slipped from the 21st to the 20th a number of years ago — but now it’s still creeping even earlier and it’s reached the point where the equinox happens on the 19th.
Now, the good, or bad, news depending on you view, every four years from now on (2024, 2028, 2032, etc.) there will be a brand new “record earliest start to spring.
It seems like the world has always had problems with calendars and we’ve had a number of calendars and tweaks to calendars over time. This is all just part of the seemingly constant change we live through. So this year we got to celebrate an extra day on February 29, and we get to celebrate the equinox even earlier than usual on the 19th. If you’re into precision, the equinox occurs at 11:50 (ten minutes before midnight) tonight, and that time is EDT.
So we won’t have the big celebration on the 21st, like in the old days. But if my calculations are correct, the equinox will return to it’s “normal” March 21 in 2103. We just have to wait until we skip the leap year in 2100 to reset everything back “right.” Happy Spring to all!!!
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