Spring Metaphors and Merriment

In American culture we do not have formal celebrations specifically for the passing of seasons. However, in many ancient cultures around the world the passing of seasons, equinoxes and solstices are celebrated as a means to strengthen and become attuned to our connection to the natural world, especially within our bioregion. It is a time to pay special attention to the breathing of our ecosystem. It is a time to become aware of our inputs and outputs, and the effect of these upon the larger system. It is a time to practice consciously inhaling and exhaling with the larger natural system of which we are a part and which we depend upon.

We have just transitioned from winter into spring passing through the warming green promise of the Vernal Equinox. This event which marks a passage into longer days and shorter nights occurred in the northern hemisphere on March 20th and occurs in the Northern hemisphere on September 20th. We are now at the midpoint between Winter and Summer.

To celebrate the vernal equinox in Japan there is a national holiday called Shunbun-no-Hi, which takes place during O-Higan on the day of the equinox. In Buddhism, the coming of spring is symbolic of the crossing from the shore of illusion to the shore of enlightenment and is a time for paying respect to the natural world.

In the Pagan traditions the vernal equinox is called Ostara and is one of the eight major holidays or sabbats of the wheel of the year. Ostara is a celebration of the renewal of life that comes with spring and is a time of fertility, a time to plant seeds and nurture them.

In Hinduism the coming of spring is celebrated in a festival called Holi. In Egypt there is a festival called Sham al-Nassim. Many other holidays and festivals fall around the equinox as well, coincidence?, or another reminder of the inherent interconnectedness of culture and nature across the world? Of natural and social systems? A reminder that while we can bend and shape the natural world to fit our human needs the origin of all our creations, sustenance and culture were shaped by and made possible by the natural world

Happy Spring Everyone!

Zeratha and everyone at The Dirt!