The Rites of Spring 2023

Spring has sprung.

Today marks the vernal equinox, according to our friends at the Old Farmer’s Almanac. The sun, they tell us, has gone over the equator and is on its way north.

In the northern hemisphere (that‘s you, Shelter Island) the earth begins to be tilted more toward the sun. The Old Farmer predicts that starting now there will be “increasing daylight hours and warming temperatures.” We’ll take him at his word.

Besides the annual American rites of celebrating the start of the season — the debaucheries of Spring Break — one in particular is worth a trip to Chichen Itza in Mexico.

The Mayans built a temple in the form of a pyramid there 2,000 years ago that coordinated the sun’s light at equinoxes to make interesting effects on the temple’s facade. For the first day of spring, sunlight hits the stone pyramid and shimmers, which the Mayans said looks like a snake sliding down and “the return of the Sun Serpent.”

Human sacrifice was also a fairly common occurrence at Chichen Itza, which Spring Break has so far successfully avoided.

We like the brevity of the observation by Robin (perfect name for the day) Williams, who summed the whole thing up by saying. “Spring is nature’s way of saying, ‘Let’s party!”

Happy Spring to all.

It is spring again. The earth is like a child who knows poems by heart. — Rainer Maria Rilke