When Spring Finally Comes, Will You Be Happy?

It’s been a long, grueling winter in some parts of the Northern Hemisphere, but Spring is just around the corner, we hear. Is it really just around the corner, (it’s only mid-February) and when it arrives, will it make us forget winter, and be happy? Looking forward to spring, and expecting to feel better when it arrives is not a new thing. People have always done that—along with giving Spring some mystical powers.

So what is it about spring that fascinates us, and stirs us, and makes some of want to jump for joy?

Is it, as we are told, that the spring (vernal) equinox in the Northern Hemisphere marks the moment the Sun crosses the celestial equator (the imaginary line in the sky above the Earth’s equator) on March 19, 20 or 21 every year—although the equinox doesn’t always come on the same day because that Earth doesn’t circle the sun in exactly 365 days?

Okay, if that doesn’t do it, maybe one of these will:

In the term vernal equinox, vernal is Latin for “spring” and equinox is Latin for “equalnight.” since night and day will be nearly exactly the same length –12 hours –all over the world, and it’s also one of only two days every year when the sun passes directly over the equator?

Following the spring equinox, the Earth’s horizon will be perfectly aligned with the Sun, and the days will begin lasting longer and the nights get shorter?

If none of those excite you, how about this:

During the spring, birds are more vocal as they sing to attract mates and warn away rivals.

Honeybees are more likely to swarm during the spring, a way to start new colonies from successful ones, becoming very docile and the most friendly they will ever be all year.

Animals reproduce in the spring when food is plentiful—farms are overrun with adorable chicks, bleating kids, and frolicking calves.

Spring brings growth back to plants and trees Plants convert sunlight into energy and produce the pigment chlorophyll, which turns them green, and after months spent conserving energy, colorful flowers bloom, signaling to the bees that they are ready for pollination.

Or it might interest you to know this:

Exposure to sunlight increases the hormone serotonin in your brain, which makes you feel happy.

Exposure to sunlight decreases the chemical melatonin in your body during the day and increases it at night, which helps you sleep better.

Sunlight triggers your body to produce the vitamin D3, which keeps your bones strong.

If that isn’t enough, here’s more:

Keep in mind, though, that beliefs about spring have not always been based in scientific fact. For some reason—maybe because spring seems so mystical–humans have been inspired by magical thinking and weird myths.

For instance, did you know that people once believed that you can balance an egg on its end only at the precise moment of the equinox? (Actually, trying to balance an oval-shaped object on its end is no easier on the spring equinox than on any other day—it depends only on your coordination and how bump the end of the egg is)

And we all know about Groundhog Day, the day (February 2) on which we will know whether spring will come early or late depending on the groundhog’s glimpse of his shadow when he emerges from his burrow, But did you know that, according to the Neolithic Celtic festival of Imbolc, which marks a seasonal turning point, people believed that some animals had the power to foretell the future?

And also, have you heard that people believed that if you stand on the equator during the equinox at noon, you don’t cast a shadow? It seems true, since the sun passes directly overhead of your location, and you may not see your shadow. However, the fact is that you will still cast a shadow, straight down and smaller, but still a shadow.

No happier? Try this instead:

But don’t listen to me, after all, like most bloggers, I dream up a lot of this stuff! Take matters in your own hands, and step outside.

You will notice that the sun warms you a little more than it did lat week, that the days has lasted just a little bit longer. If you submit to it, like the kid you once were, you might feel a spring in your step, a burst of energy, and your brain might feel more alert and awake.

You might suddenly realize that you are happy! So look no further—you, like Robert Browning,  have discovered the true meaning of spring!

Oh to be in England
Now that April’s there,
And whoever wakes in England
Sees, some morning, unaware,
That the lowest boughs and the brushwood sheaf
Round the elm-tree bole are in tiny leaf,
While the chaffinch sings on the orchard bough
In England – now!

Robert Browning