• The first day of spring is called the vernal equinox. The term vernal is Latin for “spring” and equinox is Latin for “equal night.”
• According to a Facebook study, couples are most likely to break up in the spring and two weeks before Christmas. The lowest breakup time was Christmas Day and from August through October.
• The fall and spring equinoxes are the only two times during the year when the sun rises due east and sets due west.
• Spring babies are at a greater risk for health ills
• While springtime brings flowers and warmer weather, it may be the worst time for human babies to be born. A large-scale study found that babies born in the spring are more likely to develop schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depression, and anorexia.
• On the first day of spring, a person at the North Pole would see the sun skimming across the horizon, beginning six months of uninterrupted daylight. A person at the South Pole would see the sun skimming across the horizon, signaling the start of six months of darkness.
• Spring almost always arrives on March 20 or 21, but sometimes on the 19th. The reason the equinoxes and solstices don’t always come on the same day is that Earth doesn’t circle the sun in exactly 365 days.
• The first day of spring in the Southern Hemisphere is the first day of fall in the Northern Hemisphere.
• The first spring flowers are typically lilacs, irises, lilies, tulips, daffodils, and dandelions.
• Holidays that occur in spring include Easter, Passover, April Fool’s Day, Earth Day, Arbor Day, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Cinco De Mayo, and Holi (festival of colors in India).
• Easter always falls on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the spring equinox.
• The first day of spring marks the beginning of Nowruz (“The New Day”), which is the Persian New Year. The celebration lasts 13 days and is rooted in the 3,000-year-old tradition of Zoroastrianism. It is celebrated in Iran, the North Caucasus, Kurdish parts of Turkey and Northern Iraq, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, and other scattered populations in Central Asia.
• While the spring equinox typically occurs on March 20 or 21, meteorological spring beings on March 1, a month when average temperatures increase by 10 degrees over the month.
• In China, the coming of spring coincides with celebrations for the Chinese New Year. The holiday falls on the first day of the first lunar month, in January or February. Groundhog day has its roots in an ancient seasonal festival.
• According to tradition, if a groundhog does not see his shadow after emerging from his burrow on Groundhog Day (February 2), spring will come early; if he sees his shadow, winter will last for 6 more weeks. The day has its roots in the Neolithic Celtic festival of Imbolc, which marks a seasonal turning point and also involved animal prognostication.
• For the Japanese, the opening of the cherry blossom, Japan’s national flower, in March or April signals the start of spring.
• The term “spring fever” refers to a both psychological and physiological symptoms associated with the arrival of spring, including restlessness, daydreaming, and increased sexual appetite. While the exact cause is unclear, scientists believe that increased light, more exercise, and more bare skin influence hormone levels.
• In the Southern Hemisphere, springtime lasts from August until November.
• While December is the most popular time to get engaged, late spring (June) and fall (September) are the most popular months to get married.         According to the National Association of Realtors, spring is the most popular season to sell/buy a house. Buyers are usually hesitant to move during the winter when the weather is colder and kids are in school. So, while there are lots of houses to choose from in the spring, property prices are at their highest then.
• Children grow faster during the spring.
• Children actually grow faster in the spring than during other times of the year.
• Tornadoes are most common in the spring and least common in winter.
• Every year, allergies constitute over 17 million outpatient office visits, mostly in the spring and fall.
• Every year on the first day of spring, people in Poland gather to burn an effigy and throw it in the river to bid winter farewell.
• While some people prefer not to feed birds in spring and summer, during the spring migration, a feeder might be a useful source of food for traveling birds.
• The U.S. spring season is culturally interpreted to be the day after President’s Day, which is the Tuesday after the third Monday in February, and ending on the Friday before Memorial weekend.

HAPPY SPRING!!

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