Did you know that today is the First Day of Spring? Today is one of those pivotal days where there is an equal amount of day as there is night. Of course, that does not mean that it is warm, but those days are around the corner (for us at least).

The official term for the first day of Spring is the "vernal equinox". As the Earth make its journey around the sun, this is the time where the Northern Hemisphere is tilted more towards the sun. So, for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere it is spring, for those of you in the Southern Hemisphere it is fall. On this day (generally around the 20th or 21st of March each year), sunrise and sunset are approximately 12 hours apart. Those scientific sites tell me that the day is actually a little bit longer, so it isn't quite equal, but that is ok with me.

Ok - let's debunk a myth.... Rumor has it that you can balance a raw egg on the first day of spring. In fact, there were some 100 egg-crazy New Yorkers who got together in 1983 to balance eggs, and in 1984 the number grew to about 5,000 to try this again. The theory goes that on this day, the pull of gravity is more equal because the sun is more directly overhead. Truth is there is no scientific evidence to prove this. So, although this may be something fun to try, if you can balance a raw egg today, you can balance one any day of the year.

But, go ahead and try, why not?

Some websites with family friendly crafts and information:

• Celebrate the First day of Spring with About.com
• Education World

Happy Spring!
Copyright Antonella DeFalco

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