The Vernal Equinox

Today the sun will cross directly over the equator.  That moment is called the vernal equinox, when night and day are exactly the same length.  In the southern hemisphere of the earth, it signals the beginning of Autumn.  But here, in the Pacific Northwest of the US where I live, it is the first day of Spring - the welcoming of fresh starts and new birth.  The beginning of the new Seasons.