Happy First Day of Spring and Easter

[ballparent]

Happy Spring and Happy Easter!


Why Easter is early and announcing today as the first day of Spring.....by Tigertownturke:
WHY EASTER IS EARLY THIS YEAR...

As you may know, Easter is always the 1st Sunday after the 1st full moon
after the Spring Equinox (which is March 20). This dating of Easter is based
on the lunar calendar that Hebrew people used to identify Passover, which is
why it moves around on our Roman calendar.

Here are a couple of things in which you might be interested! Based on the
above, Easter can actually be one day earlier (March 22) but that is pretty
rare.

Here's the interesting information. This year is the earliest Easter any of
us will ever see the rest of our lives! And only the most elderly of our
population have ever seen it this early (95 years old or above!).

And none of us have ever, or will ever, see it a day earlier!

Here are the facts:

1) The next time Easter will be this early (March 23) will be the year 2228
(220 years from now). The last time it was this early was 1913 (so if you're
95 or older, you are the only ones that were around for that!).

2) The next time it will be a day earlier, March 22, will be in the year
2285 (277 years from now). The last time it was on March 22 was 1818. So, no
one alive today has or will ever see it any earlier than this year!

AN EARLY HAPPY EASTER TO YOU!

[orange-n-brown 365]

bah hum bug oops wrong season

[YOU'RE TIGER BAIT]

I'D JUST BE HAPPY TO HAVE THE FIRST DAY WITHOUT RAIN AND MUD.

[noreply66]

Columbus said we have had only 18 days without rain or snow this year.

[ballparent]

I hope everyone enjoys a wonderful Easter week-end with family and friends. I also hope there's no rain in the forecast for all the little one's Easter Egg hunts.

[BubbleGumTiger]

Rite of Spring
Vernal equinox occurs on March 20, 2008



March 20, 2008, is a date that most of us recognize as symbolic of changing seasons. As we welcome spring, people south of the equator are actually gearing up for the cooler temperatures of autumn.


What Happens at the Equinox?


Far from being an arbitrary indicator of the changing seasons, March 20 (March 21 in some years) is significant for astronomical reasons. On March 20, 2008, at precisely 1:48 A.M. EDT (March 20, 05:48 Universal Time), the Sun will cross directly over the Earth's equator. This moment is known as the vernal equinox in the Northern Hemisphere. For the Southern Hemisphere, this is the moment of the autumnal equinox.


Equinox Means "Equal Night"


Translated literally, equinox means "equal night." Because the sun is positioned above the equator, day and night are about equal in length all over the world during the equinoxes. A second equinox occurs each year on September 22 or 23; in 2008, it will be on September 22 at 11:44 A.M. EDT (15:44 UT). This date will mark the autumnal equinox in the Northern Hemisphere and the vernal equinox in the Southern (vernal denotes "spring").

Astronomical Calendar, March 2007



Reasons for the Seasons


These brief but monumental moments owe their significance to the 23.4 degree tilt of the Earth's axis. Because of the tilt, we receive the Sun's rays most directly in the summer. In the winter, when we are tilted away from the Sun, the rays pass through the atmosphere at a greater slant, bringing lower temperatures. If the Earth rotated on an axis perpendicular to the plane of the Earth's orbit around the Sun, there would be no variation in day lengths or temperatures throughout the year, and we would not have seasons.


Rituals and Traditions


Modern astronomy aside, people have recognized the vernal equinox for thousands of years. There is no shortage of rituals and traditions surrounding the coming of spring. Many early peoples celebrated for the basic reason that their food supplies would soon be restored. The date is significant in Christianity because Easter always falls on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the vernal equinox. It is also probably no coincidence that early Egyptians built the Great Sphinx so that it points directly toward the rising Sun on the day of the vernal equinox.

The first day of spring also marks the beginning of Nowruz, the Persian New Year. The celebration lasts 13 days and is rooted in the 3,000-year-old tradition of Zorastrianism.

[grndma1]

Happy Easter to everyone.

[Focused]

Hope everyone has a wonderful Easter as we observe and celebrate the Ressurection of Christ....

[orange-n-brown 365]

Columbus said we have had only 18 days without rain or snow this year.

that i can believe since Mr. Orange n Brown has only worked about 10 days since mid-December

Happy Easter to everyone..

[Bassmaster]

Sunday is coming....He is risen

[sportsfanatic85]

Happy Easter!

Hopefully it will warm up for all the little ones that
will be dressed in their spring clothes, hunting easter eggs.