by Svetlana Konnikova                                                                     

Today is the day of equinox. it started at 11:44 AM. As you know, an equinox occurs twice a year (second will be on September 22nd at 9:18PM). According to MSN Encarta, in late March and late September both hemispheres, the Northern and the Southern, are the same distance from the Sun and the Sun is said to be at the equinox. The Northern Hemisphere’s vernal equinox usually occurs on March 20 or 21 and marks the beginning of spring. Did you notice the difference in average temperature; the Sun shines longer in the sky?

At the equinoxes, the Sun appears to be directly over Earth’s equator. The lenghts of day and night are then equal over almost all Earth, except the poles. The name ‘equinox’ came from the Latin aequus (equal) and nox (night). It means that around the equinox, the night and day are almost equally long. No wonder I woke up today at 6:30 AM. New day still did not start, it was dark outside, but there was a nice surprise waiting for me.

                                                                        Spring was in the air. Nature awakened from a long winter sleep. In winter under a blanket of snow, bulbs lay dormant. Every year I patiently wait for my favorite flowers to arrive.  Finally they arrived, the first messengers of awakening Nature–delicate, milky-white snowdrops softly blowing in a tender breeze.

                                                               

You can see now these first spring flowers –snowdrops everywhere in the European cities and our Northern states. People buy them from a street vendors or in the flower stores and carefully carry home these tiny masterpieces created by Mother Nature. Celebrate today the beginning of a new season and Nature’s vital forces, a warmer weather and the snowdrops, first gracious spring messengers. 

 An old legend tells that snow fell as Adam and Eve were banished from Paradise. there was no place for Eve to hide from the frost. Then seceral snowflakes trabsformed into beautiful flowers and offered her a sign of hope. From then on, the modest snowdrop was a symbol of hope.

White snowdrops are rocking in the cradle of a light breeze. Each tiny flower, their white bell-shaped petals edged by the tiniest dab of lime green, shimmered in our garden. The flower of spring came to us from beneath the snow, a simple flower, carrying so much hope and joy for everyone.

Many famous people loved snowdrops. One of them was Hans Christian Andersen who even wrote “The Snowdrop.” In his fairy tale, this spring flower was always wondering.  Wonder yourself and motivate your children to wonder, too. It is healthy for our brain. Here is an excerpt:

It was winter, the air was cold, the wind was sharp, but within the closed doors it was warm and comfortable, and within the closed door lay the flower; ut lay in the bulb under the snow-covered earth. One day rain fell. The drops penetrated through the snowy covering down into the earth, touched the flower bulb, and talked of the bright world above. Soon the Sunbeam pierced its way through the snow to the root, and within the root there was a stirring.

“Come in,” said the Flower.

“I cannot,” said the Sunbeam. “I am not strong enough to unlock the door! When the summer comes, I shall be strong!”

“When will it be summer?” asked the Flower, and she repeated this question each time a new sunbeam made its way down to her. But the summer was yet far distant. The snow still lay upon the ground, and there was a coat of ice on the water every night.

“What a long time it takes! What a long time it takes!” said the Flower. “I feel a stirring and striving within me; I must stretch myself, I must unlock the door, I must get out, amd must nod a good morning to the summer, and a happy time that will be!”

The Flower was right. Spring is in the air! Do you feel “stirring and striving” within you? Stretch yourself, unlock the door of your house, get out and enjoy fresh air, bright sunbeams, and  the beauty of nature. You’ll feel strong and happy!’

Reference: MSN Encarta, http://encarta.msn.com/text_761587790__0/Season.html

Svetlana Konnikova, Mama’s Home Remedies: Discover Time-Tested Secrets of Good Health and the Pleasure of Natural Living, Aurora Publishers, 2008, p. 194, 195

Hans Christian Andersen, The Snowdrop, 1863

Picture: Heart of Snow, Edward Robert Hudges (1851-1914), Courtesy of Peter Nahum at the Leicester Galleries, London, http://www.leicestergalleries.com

Photos: The Snowdrop by Petr Kratochvil; The Snowdrop & The Snowdrops in A Vase by Anna Cervova

Copyright 2009.