It seems like only yesterday we were celebrating the start of a new calendar year. But here it is, nearly a third of the way into 2025. Welcome spring!

In the Farmer’s Almanac, today marks the vernal equinox – the day the sun crosses the celestial equator (an imaginary line in space that runs parallel to the earth’s equator) from South to North. Technically, that means the day is equal in exposure: 12 hours of daylight, 12 hours of dark.

In reality, because of the size of the sun and the refraction of earth’s atmosphere, last Friday was the closest to falling exactly equal. But the timing varies all across the globe. The primary reason we choose March 19^th, 20^th, or 21^st is because that’s the day the sun rises exactly in the east and sets exactly in the west.

Why different days, you ask? That’s a longer story involving the math used to calculate how the calendar works. In simplest terms, each year of the earth’s rotation is 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes and 46 seconds. The extra day on Leap Year tries to fix this but still leaves us about 10 minutes off. And this is after two astronomers and a mathematician spent a couple of decades to come up with the best solution.

In 1582, 10 days were skipped and the Gregorian calendar was established so that Easter would always fall in the spring – also on a different day every year, but we can chat about that later.

Sunrise, Sunset

If you’ve ever tried to spot the green flash, you know just how quickly the sun can set on the Gulf Coast of Florida. On the day of the equinox, it’s even faster. Because of the alignment of the earth’s axis and rotation, the sunrise and sunset today are as fast as they’ll ever be.

By the way, even though our seasons are reversed – in Australia, today marks the beginning of Autumn rather than Spring – anywhere you are on the planet, the sun rises in the east and sets in the west. The only exceptions are at the North and South Pole. How incredible is that?

Going forward, as we get closer to Summer, our days will get “longer” as the sun shines on us more – not just because of Daylight Savings Time.

Monumental Occasion

When we talk about all of the machinations and twisted math the Romans and the Church had to do to make sense of the calendar, it’s hard to believe there were easier ways of marking the time. But in reality, some of the oldest man-made monuments somehow get it right every time.

You remember in Raiders of the Lost Ark, when Indiana Jones used the headpiece of the Staff of Ra to locate the Well of the Souls where the Ark was hidden? The idea was based not only on the 1940s serialized films Lucas and Spielberg loved, but on a real-life phenomenon.

If you stand at the base of the Sphinx in Egypt at sunset today, as the sun descends it draws a direct line down the Pyramid of Khafre to touch the right shoulder of the ancient statue of the mythological creature.

At the highest point of Machu Pichu in Peru sits a stone called Intihuatana, which roughly translates as the place to tie up the sun. The stone is perfectly positioned so that each corner points to north, south, east, and west. But at noon today, the sun will appear to stop and stand in the center of the Intihuatana for a moment.

Spring Has Sprung!

For the ancient peoples, spring was a time of minor celebration, marking the beginning of planting and a time of renewal. The larger festivities kick off in a few weeks when we mark the festivals of Passover for the Jews and Easter for Christians.

In our modern world, now is the time to clear out our cobwebs – literally and figuratively – as we spring clean our homes and our hearts in preparation. Throw open the curtains or blinds, let the sun in, and give everything a good once over.

Spring is also a great time to take control of your pest control. Winter, as much as we have it here, is over; soon the rains will come. Prepare now by investing in our Go Green Perimeter Plus. Our most popular solution, it eliminates spiders, roaches, ants, silverfish and more. Don’t wait! Give us a call today.