First Day of Spring 2024: The Spring Equinox (2024)

Welcome, vernal equinox! In 2024, the first day of spring isTuesday, March 19. Does this date seem early to you? Learn why—and let’s celebrate the start of this most gloriousseason!

When Is the First Day of Spring2024?

In 2024, the March equinox happens on March 19 at 11:06 P.M. EDT. This falls on a Tuesday and is the astronomical beginning of the spring season in the Northern Hemisphere and the autumn season in the Southern Hemisphere.

If you thought that the spring equinox only ever occurred on March 21, you may be datingyourself. The civil calendar date of the equinox continues to shift every year.Find out why.

What Is the SpringEquinox?

In the Northern Hemisphere, the spring equinox in the Northern Hemisphere (also called the Marchequinox or vernal equinox across the globe)occurs when the Sun crosses the celestial equator going south to north. It’s called the “celestial” equatorbecause it’s an imaginary line in the sky above the Earth’s equator. Imagine standing on the equator; the Sun would pass directly overhead on its waynorth.

On the March equinox, the Northern Hemisphere and Southern Hemisphere receive roughly equal amounts of sunlight; neither hemisphere is tilted more toward or away from the Sun than theother.

Although in most locations (the North Pole and Equator being exceptions), the amount of daylight had been increasing each day after the winter solstice, after the spring equinox, many places will experience more daylight than darkness in each 24-hour day. The amount of daylight each day will continue to increase until the summer solstice in June, during which the longest period of daylightoccurs.

→See your personalized Sun rise and set calculator.

Here’s an interesting fact: Equinoxes are the only two times yearly that the Sunrisesdue east andsetsdue west for all of us on Earth! While the Sun passes overhead, thetilt of the Earth is zero relative to the Sun, which means that the Earth’s axis neither points toward nor away from the Sun.(Note, however, that the Earth never orbits upright but is always tilted on its axis by about 23.5degrees.)

Read more aboutthereason for the seasons.

What Does “Equinox”Mean?

The wordequinoxcomes from the Latin words for“equal night”—aequus(equal) and nox(night).On the equinox, the length of day and night is nearly equal in all parts of theworld.

Spring Equinox FAQs

Q: Does Spring Begin on March 1 or on theEquinox?

A: Well, both. Theanswer depends on your definition of “spring.”Both dates are accurate; they’re just from different perspectives. We’ll explain…

Astronomically speaking, the first day of spring is marked bythe spring equinox, which falls on March 19, 20, or 21. The equinox happens at the exact moment worldwide, although our clock times reflect a different time zone.And, as mentioned above, this date only signalsspring’s beginning in the Northern Hemisphere; it announces fall’s arrival in the SouthernHemisphere.

Interestingly, due to time zone differences, there hasn’t been a March 21 equinox in mainland U.S. during the entire 21stcentury! We won’t see a March 21 equinox againuntil2101.

Meteorologically speaking, the official first day of spring is March 1 (and the last is May 31). Weather scientists divide the year into quarters to make it easier to compare seasonal and monthly statistics from one year to the next. The meteorological seasons are based on annual temperature cycles rather than on the position of Earth in relation to the Sun, and they more closely follow the Gregorian calendar. Using the dates of the astronomical equinoxes and solstices for the seasons would present a statistical problem, as these dates can vary slightly eachyear.

Q: Are Day and Night Equal on theEquinox?

A: Quite close!In reality, dayand night arenot exactly equal on the equinox for two reasons:First, daytime begins the moment any part of the Sun appears overthe horizonand is not finished until the last part of the Sun disappears below the horizon. If the Sun were to shrink to a starlike point and we lived in a world without air, the spring and fall equinoxes would truly have equalnights.

→Read about more fun facts in the Almanac Astronomer’s post, “Vernal Equinox Oddities.”

Q: According to folklore, you can stand a raw egg on its end on the equinox. Is thistrue?

A:This eggfolklore became popular in 1945 following aLIFE articleabout the spring practice. “The origins of this myth are attributed to stories that the ancient Chinese would create displays of eggs standing on end during the first day of spring,” according to John Millis, assistant professor of physics and astronomy at Anderson University in South Carolina. “The ancient Chinese celebrated the first day of spring about six weeks earlier than the equinox”—not just on the equinoxitself.

As with most folklore, it’s only partly true. Youshould be able to balance an egg on its end on the equinox, but it’spossible to balance an egg on other days,too!

Folklore or not, this egg trick sounded likefun to us. One spring, a few minutes before the vernal equinox, several Almanac editors tried this trick. For a full workday, 17 out of 24 eggs stood on end. Three days later, we tried this trick again and found similar results. Perhaps three days after the equinox was still too near. Perhaps the equinox has nothing to do with it. Perhaps we just don’t like to take ourselves tooseriously!

Try this yourself and let us know what happens.(Tip: You’ll probably have better luck balancing an egg if you try it on a rough surface or use an egg that has a bumpyend.)

Q: Which day has the most Sunlight in NorthAmerica?

A: The Summer—or “June”—Solstice is called the “longest” day of the year! The date of the longest day actually varies from June 20 to June 22, depending on the year and the local time zone. By “longest day,” we mean the day with the most daylight (versus darkness).See our Summer Solstice page.

Some Ideas on How to CelebrateSpring!

The vernal equinox signals new beginnings and nature’s renewal in the Northern Hemisphere!Many cultures celebrate spring festivals, such as Easter and Passover.