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Spring Equinox: Today

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Photo via Almanac.com

Get on that lounge chair, spring has officially arrived bringing with it warming temperatures and increasing daylight.

Of course, some of us won’t exactly get to enjoy it poolside, instead watching the beautiful spring days pass by from the comfort of an air-conditioned office.

Nevertheless, today, Tuesday March 20 marks the first day of spring and the spring equinox.

The Spring Equinox kicked off at 1:14 a.m. EDT when the sun’s rays shined directly overhead at the equator, according to the Washington Postmarking the first day of spring for the Northern Hemisphere and the first day of fall for the Southern Hemisphere.

Most interesting about the day is that the length of day and night is equal everywhere on Earth (12 hours of light and 12 hours of darkness). The spring and fall equinoxes are reportedly the only days with equal daylight and dark as the Sun crosses the celestial equator, according to Almanac.com.

The increasing daylight will continue for a three month period before the summer solstice in June, the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere and the official start of summer.

As we’ve previously reported, Ostara is also being celebrated with the kick off of Spring. The Pagan celebration is named after a German goddess called Eostre, who’s associated with new life.