The spring equinox 2024 takes place on Wednesday, March 20, at 05:06 (Romanian time). The phenomenon marks the beginning of astronomical spring in the Northern Hemisphere, while astronomical autumn begins in the Southern Hemisphere. The vernal equinox is also the date when it is said that “day is equal to night”, meaning that the hours of light are equal to those of darkness. Daylight saving time in 2024 will be a few days after this event, on March 31, when clocks are set forward one hour.
The equinox represents the moment when the Sun, in its annual movement, passes through the point of intersection of the ecliptic with the celestial Equator, the day being equal to the night in any place on Earth. The two points on the ecliptic, where the Sun is at the moment of the equinox, are called equinoctial points, being called the vernal point and the autumnal point, respectively. Thus, there are two phenomena: the spring equinox and the autumn equinox.
The popular name of the astronomical phenomenon in Romania is “Târ Before”, respectively “Târ Înapoi” (according to the volume “Days and myths. Calendar of the Romanian peasant”, by Ion Ghinoiu, 2000). The word “equinox” derives from the French word “équinoxe”, which, in turn, comes from the Latin “aequinoctium”, formed from “aequus” – “equal” and “nox”, “noctis” – “night”. The length of the day (illuminated by the sun) will continue to increase, and that of the night to decrease, until June 21, when the astronomical spring will end with the summer solstice.
During the spring equinox, everything comes to life, tends to surface, to enjoy the deep energies of spring. Astrologers claim that the moment when the day becomes equal to the night (at the spring equinox) symbolizes a state of harmony, a state of profound transformation of both external nature and a beneficial transformation of our human nature.
Switching to summer time
We switch to daylight saving time on March 31, 2024, when clocks go forward one hour. The last Sunday of March will thus be the shortest day of the year, with only 23 hours. During summer time, the difference between Romania’s official time and Universal Time (GMT) will be three hours (compared to two hours, in winter time). The 2024 daylight saving time change occurs a few days after the vernal equinox, marked on March 20, 2024, when day equals night. From this point, the day begins to “increase” and the night to decrease (the length of daylight during a day) until the summer solstice on June 20, 2024.
Traditions and superstitions in Romania
On the day of the Spring Equinox, the beginning of the agricultural year, numerous weather forecasts were made. More precisely, as it will be during Macinici, so it will be all spring. On this day, the oxen were watered, the animals were fed well, incense was smoked and the housewives threw an egg before the plow.
The belief that starting an economic activity on the day of the agrarian New Year brings growth and abundance is well illustrated by the custom of taking out the plow in the field and pulling the first furrow.
Ritual fires by which people cleared their fences and dry fields marked the day of the equinox and were meant to attract the power of the Sun.
Children would go out in the wattle and leave the door open to the house shouting: “It’s cold in and the heat is out/ May the weather be good/ At our house on the wattle!”.
There was also a ritual by which the fire in the hearth, associated with the sun, was meant to increase the light and warmth of spring. The girls and boys would go to the outskirts of the villages, on the hills and through the woods for spring flowers and mushrooms. In some areas of Moldova, children decorated a dry branch with flowers and set off with it on their way through the village.
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