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Spring Up!!!
The Calendar >
It doesn't take a great imagination to see that spring marks a sort of beginning or rebirth for so many people throughout the world, both ancient and modern. We proclaim it in our holidays, such as Easter and St Patrick's Day. It's also announced in nature in both the animal and plant world, as life seems to spring simultaneously from every corner of our land.
And, of course, our weather changes from the bleakness and wet of winter into a new kind of day, a more joyous climate, one that drives the celebration.
Not to take away from the poetry and romance of this beautiful season - on the contrary, we should all celebrate it - but much of what we enjoy about the season and find ourselves immersed in has a physical basis, one perfectly hardwired into the framework of our solar system.
The celestial cause of all this revelry is our planet's tilt with respect to the sun. Regular readers here will know that that is a truly wonderful thing about our home planet. For part of the year we are tilted toward the sun (summer), and part of the year away from it (winter). Between the two extremes we stand at upright attention to our star as we pass through the spring and autumnal equinoxes.
If we had no tilt, there would be no seasons; no bleak winter, no scorching summer, no windy, dry autumns, and of course no blooming spring. We would have essentially the same sort of weather all year long. The word "boring" immediately comes to mind. More importantly, though, the comfortable living places on this planet would be in narrow bands between a blazing equator and the permanently frozen northern and southern latitudes.
If we were tilted over much more, the seasons would be more extreme with summer always very, very hot, and the winters always frozen. Huge variations in temperature are not conducive to happy civilizations.
The way it is tilted now assures that there is the greatest amount of favorable weather spread out over most of the planet. Thus, our present tilt favors the greatest and most comfortable spread of civilization.
It is this Tuesday, at 5:09 PM to be precise, that we are at spring equinox - the planet is lit equally from pole to shining pole. For us in North America it is our passage from the "tilted away" days of winter to the "tilted towards" days of summer.
Of course this transition means more energy from the sun, which leads to warmer temperatures and more energy for the growth of plants, the bottom of the food chain.
We don't notice much of a change here in southern California with our minimal variation in weather, but in colder and wetter places - like back east - the first day of spring is a sign of hope: It will get better soon.
Now, of course, the weather doesn't change overnight - the birds don't start tweeting and bees don't start buzzing on the magical First Day of Spring. The climate always experiences a little delay. Just as our daytime temperature doesn't jump as soon the sun peeps its head above the horizon, the Earth takes a little while to warm as we approach summer. But it does happen.
You can probably see why many civilizations used to begin their new year in March. Remnants of those old days are still there in our calendar. With March as the first month, you can see that September was the seventh month (sept- meaning seven), with October (oct- = eighth), November (nov- = ninth) and December (dec- = tenth) following. January and February were the closing months of the year as the sun began to rise higher in the skies to announce that spring and a new year were coming.
With the coming of spring, with the hope of new life and rebirth, we can see how our lives as humans are once again influenced by some heavenly source. Have a great spring!
Posted by Mark Ritter at 2007.03.18 06:46 PM | Comments (0)
