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"March 21 is the first day of Spring, and after a cold, snowy winter, many are celebrating the new season. Called the &amp;quot;vernal equinox&amp;quot; by astronomers, spring officially began in the northern hemisphere at 7:21 ET on Sunday, March 20. The vernal equinox happens when the sun passes directly over the earth&amp;#039;s equator, and is believed to be one of two days out of the year (the other is the autumn equinox), when day and night are both exactly 12 hours. But the exact division of day and night actually happens a bit before the spring equinox and will happen after the autumn equinox. Exactly when, will depend on your location. But that doesn&amp;#039;t mean the first day of spring isn&amp;#039;t special. For one thing, there will be more day than night, which is something to celebrate on its own. Thespring and fall equinoxes are also the only two times during the year when the sun rises directly in the east and sets directly in the west,= according to National Geographic.So if you&amp;#039;re going to get lost, now&amp;#039;s a good time to do it as it will be easiest to find your bearings. And those in the northern hemisphere can look forward to warmer temperatures ahead as they go into summer, even though those in the southern hemisphere are moving into autumn and winter. The spring equinox is also a big day for astrology (if you believe in that). Aries, which is the ram, and is often associated with Mars, the Roman god of war, reports Time.com. Aries is the first of the other bold astrological signs that happen throughout the summer months. But overall, spring is a time of rebirth and growth, and for many it&amp;#039;s the chance to finally come out of hibernation after a long, bitter winter. So even if its cold or rainy like it is here in New York City, the first day of spring means warm weather is on the horizon. - Alexandra Gekas, Associate Editor "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.womansday.com/life/news/a44527/cold-or-not-today-is-the-first-day-of-spring-349/>