This year in the northern hemisphere the Spring or Vernal Equinox falls on the 20th March. The equinox marks the day when day and night are the same lengths all over the world, with the word equinox literally meaning equal night‚in Latin.

The spring equinox marks the change of the seasons and as the northern hemisphere begins to tilt towards the sun, our days start to get longer and our nights shorter. In the northern hemisphere, we enjoy the arrival of spring and the promise of warmer days. To our friends in the southern hemisphere, however, this marks the changing of their seasons to autumn.

The equinox does not always fall on the same day each year due to the fact that the earth orbits the sun on a slightly elliptical path, meaning that the spring equinox can happen on either the 19th, 20th or 21st of March. Although many cultures celebrate the whole day as the equinox, the equinox is, in fact, technically the specific point in time when the sun crosses the equator.

In the northern hemisphere, the March equinox is traditionally celebrated as a time of rebirth with many different cultures celebrating spring holidays and festivals such as Easter and Passover around the time of the equinox.