March Equinox

When:
🗓️ March 20

The March equinox is proof that balance exists in the universe, even if it’s only for a fleeting moment 🌞🌐

It’s that time of year again when the time when the sun shines equally on both hemispheres and makes us all feel equal.
March Equinox is one of two times each year when we have 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of darkness.
Roughly.
But let’s not get too technical here, the important thing is the equinox is a time for celebration!

Northern Hemisphere:

In the Northern Hemisphere, the March Equinox is a time to celebrate the return of life after the long winter.
It’s a time to plant gardens, enjoy outdoor activities, and soak up the sun.
Culturally, many celebrate this time as the Persian New Year, Nowruz, and Ostara, a pagan festival celebrating the goddess of spring.

Planting seeds and starting a garden
Doing a spring cleaning of your home
Spending time outside, enjoying the warmer weather
Attending a spring equinox festival or celebration

Southern Hemisphere:

Meanwhile, in the Southern Hemisphere, the March Equinox marks the start of autumn and the beginning of the harvest season. It’s a time to gather with friends and family, and to celebrate the abundance of the earth.
Culturally, this time is celebrated as Mabon, a pagan festival celebrating the balance of light and dark.

Hosting a harvest celebration with friends and family
Enjoying autumn activities, such as apple picking or leaf-peeping
Preparing for winter by stockpiling food and supplies
Attending an autumn equinox festival or celebration

Whether you’re in the Northern or Southern Hemisphere, it’s time to celebrate the March Equinox in your own way! After all, it’s not every day that the sun and moon align and give us equal parts of both.

The solstice and equinox are astronomical events that mark the changing of the seasons.

Equinox: Earth upright.
Solstice: Earth tilted.

An Equinox is when the Earth looks like it’s standing straight up, so the “middle” of the Earth is closer to the rays of the sun than ever.
This is when the sun shines exactly perpendicular on the Equator.
Night and day are now exactly equally long.
The equator now has the warmest weather, while other parts of the Earth overall have “meh weather” also known as autumn and spring.
The tilt of the Earth’s axis is not inclined towards or away from the sun, resulting in equal amounts of daylight and darkness.
This happens twice a year, once in March and once in September, and marks the start of spring and fall, respectively.

A Solstice is when the Earth looks kinda tilted.
The moment when the Earth’s tilt toward or away from the sun is at its maximum, causing the longest or shortest day of the year.
Everything that is not Equator now has either the warmest or coldest season depending on which hemisphere is currently closest to the sun.
On the summer solstice, the Northern Hemisphere is tilted toward the sun and experiences the longest day of the year, while on the winter solstice, it is tilted away from the sun and experiences the shortest day of the year.

In summary:

Solstice:
Summer or winter.
Longest or shortest day of the year

Equinox:
Spring or summer.
Equally long day and night

A neatly sorted list of when the solstices and equinoxes happen.
All times are in UTC.

	March Equinox		June Solstice		September Equinox		December Solstice
Year	Day	Time	Day	Time	Day	Time	Day	Time
2020	20	03:50	20	21:43	22	13:31	21	10:03
2021	20	09:37	21	03:32	22	19:21	21	15:59
2022	20	15:33	21	09:14	23	01:04	21	21:48
2023	20	21:25	21	14:58	23	06:50	22	03:28
2024	20	03:07	20	20:51	22	12:44	21	09:20
2025	20	09:02	21	02:42	22	18:20	21	15:03
2026	20	14:46	21	08:25	23	00:06	21	20:50
2027	20	20:25	21	14:11	23	06:02	22	02:43
2028	20	02:17	20	20:02	22	11:45	21	08:20
2029	20	08:01	21	01:48	22	17:37	21	14:14
2030	20	13:51	21	07:31	22	23:27	21	20:09
2031	20	19:41	21	13:17	23	05:15	22	01:56
2032	20	01:2	20	19:09	22	11:11	21	07:57
2033	20	07:23	21	01:01	22	16:52	21	13:45
2034	20	13:18	21	06:45	22	22:41	21	19:35
2035	20	19:03	21	12:33	23	04:39	22	01:31
2036	20	01:02	20	18:31	22	10:23	21	07:12
2037	20	06:50	21	00:22	22	16:13	21	13:08
2038	20	12:40	21	06:09	22	22:02	21	19:01
2039	20	18:32	21	11:58	23	03:50	22	00:41
2040	20	00:11	20	17:46	22	09:44	21	06:33
2041	20	06:07	20	23:37	22	15:27	21	12:19
2042	20	11:53	21	05:16	22	21:11	21	18:04
2043	20	17:29	21	10:59	23	03:07	22	00:02
2044	19	23:20	20	16:50	22	08:47	21	05:43
2045	20	05:08	20	22:34	22	14:33	21	11:36
2046	20	10:58	21	04:15	22	20:22	21	17:28
2047	20	16:52	21	10:02	23	02:07	21	23:07
2048	19	22:34	20	15:54	22	08:01	21	05:02
2049	20	04:28	20	21:47	22	13:42	21	10:51
2050	20	10:20	21	03:33	22	19:29	21	16:39