Spring officially begins in Northern Hemisphere

The Sun appeared directly above Earth’s equator at 9.01am on Thursday, marking the Spring Equinox.

Despite popular belief, the equinox does not mark an equal balance of day and night even though the word comes from Latin, where equi means “equal” and nox means “night.”

Daylight on Thursday will last 12 hours and 10 minutes, with the spring equilux on St. Patrick’s Day (March 17th) marking a perfect balance of day and night hours.

A location’s equilux dates depend on the latitude.

It is believed that the close proximity of the spring equinox to St. Patrick’s Day is due to a merging of ancient Celtic traditions with more modern Catholic rituals.

5000 years ago, the builders of the Lough Crew cairns on Sliabh na Caillighe in Wicklow aligned their tombs to sunrise at the equinox.

Meanwhile, clocks go forward by one hour at 1am on the last Sunday of March, which this year falls on March 30th.

Daylight today will last 12 hours and 10 minutes, with the Spring Equilux on St. Patrick’s Day (March 17th) marking a perfect balance of day and night hours.