You've made it through the winter and watched the food stores diminish. But the days are getting longer and green shoots are appearing. Spring is on the way. The festivals of the vernal equinox emphasize rebirth and renewal. In many cultures the equinox is also the New Year.

Vernal Equinox

Interesting fact about the 2016 spring equinox:

Usually, the spring equinox happens on March 20 or 21. And it did happen on March 20 in Europe and Asia . . . and just barely in the eastern US and Canada. (The Sun crossed the equator at 00:30 Sunday morning.) For those farther west, the equinox occurred on March 19.

This has been the earliest spring equinox since 1896.

The main pyramid, El Castillo, of Chichen Itza, Mexico was built with four stairways running from top to bottom of the pyramid's faces. The angle of the staircases was designed so that on the day of the equinox the sun's light produces what looks like an enormous snake slithering down the stairs.

“The snake of sunlight”, Chichen Itza, Mexico (©iStockphoto.com/CostinT)