There Are Two First Days of Spring
A Light exists in Spring
Not present on the Year
At any other period —
When March is scarcely here
- Emily Dickinson
Most people think spring begins on the equinox, when day and night are equal and the earth begins its tilt back toward the sun. But ask a meteorologist, and they'll tell you spring started on March 1st. They've been saying this since the founding of the Societas Meteorologica Palatina nearly 250 years ago.
Both are right, but they're measuring different things.
The astronomical version
Astronomical spring is the one most of us grew up with. It has ancient Roman roots, formalized through the Julian calendar as a way of marking time by the heavens. The observable moments in Earth's orbit mark seasonal events — the equinoxes and solstices. The spring equinox arrives when the sun crosses directly over the equator, day and night become roughly equal, and the Northern Hemisphere begins its long tilt back toward the sun.
It's a genuinely beautiful way to mark time — precise, measurable, and tied to a particular moment in Earth's journey.
The meteorological version
In 1780, the Societas Meteorologica Palatina introduced a different framework. Instead of tracking Earth's orbit, they divided the year into four tidy three-month blocks based on temperature patterns and the Gregorian calendar. Spring became March, April, and May. Summer, June, July, and August, and so forth.
Because Earth's orbit is elliptical rather than perfectly circular, astronomical seasons vary in length by several days — anywhere from 89 to 93 days depending on the year. The Gregorian approach brought consistency and allowed for comparing weather data across years without the messiness of shifting durations.
It's less poetic than the equinox, but it has its own logic: by March 1st, the coldest part of winter is statistically behind us. The days are getting longer, brighter, and warmer.
What both versions agree on
However you count it, something shifts in early March. Kids who have been cooped up all winter can feel it before they can explain it. The restlessness that shows up around this time of year is a physiological response to measurable changes in light and temperature that have been happening since the solstice in December.
Early spring is one of the richest times to be outside with kids. The first crocuses are peeking out from the soil. Animals are busying themselves with nest building and foraging. Noticing the awakening of spring with children is a rewarding experience — a little reminder that all life is part of a beautiful cycle.
So whether your spring started on March 1st or you're waiting for the equinox on March 20th, the muddy, rainy, gloriously unpredictable weeks are already on their way. Gear up and get outside.
