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The seasons are defined by the movements of the sun and moon. Since ancient times, many religious and cultural events throughout the world have been closely tied to the seasons.

The vernal equinox is, in the northern hemisphere, the official beginning of spring. For many Canadians, the Easter holiday marks the end of winter and beginning of the spring season. Although a religious celebration, it is the moon and the vernal equinox that decide on which day Easter will fall from year to year.

Easter Sunday is the first Sunday after the first full moon following the vernal equinox. This year, the vernal equinox occurs March 20 at 5:48 UTC (formerly Greenwich Mean Time) with the first full moon taking place on March 21. As a result, we are enjoying a very early Easter.

See below for a list* of cultural events from around the world with a close tie to the vernal equinox.

• Sham El Nessim was an ancient Egyptian holiday which can be traced back as far as 2700 B.C. It is still one of the public holidays in Egypt. It occurs on Monday and coincided with the vernal equinox.
• The calculation of Easter in the Christian church (first Sunday after the first full moon on or after the March equinox), uses its own definition for the equinox — it always falls on March 21. The earliest possible Easter date in any year is therefore March 22.
• The March Equinox marks the first day of various calendars including the Iranian calendar and the Bahá'í calendar. The Persian (Iranian) festival of Nowruz is celebrated then. According to the ancient Persian mythology Jamshid, the mythological king of Persia, ascended to the throne on this day and each year this is commemorated with festivities for two weeks. These festivities recall the story of creation and the ancient cosmology of Iranian and Persian people.

• It is also a holiday for Azerbaijan, Afghanistan, India, Turkey, Zanzibar, Albania, and various countries of Central Asia, as well as among the Kurds.
• As well as being a Zoroastrian holiday, it is also a holy day for adherents of the Bahá'í Faith, and the Nizari Ismaili Muslims, commonly known as the Aga Khanis.
• The spring equinox marks the Wiccan Sabbat of Ostara (or Eostar), while at the autumn equinox the Wiccan Sabbat of Mabon is celebrated.
• In Japan, (March) Vernal Equinox Day (Shunbun no hi) is an official national holiday, and is spent visiting family graves and holding family reunions. Similarly, in September, there is an Autumnal Equinox Day (Shubun no hi).
• Tamil and Bengali New Years follow the Hindu zodiac and are celebrated according to the sidereal vernal equinox (14 April). The former is celebrated in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu, and the latter in Bangladesh and the East Indian state of West Bengal.
• Earth Day was initially celebrated on March 21, 1970, the equinox day. It is currently celebrated in various countries on April 22.
• In many Arab countries, Mother's Day is celebrated on the March equinox.
• World Storytelling Day is a global celebration of the art of oral storytelling, celebrated every year on the spring equinox in the northern hemisphere, the first day of autumn equinox in the southern.

*In the list below the terms March and September equinoxes are used when the celebration is fixed in time, while the terms spring and autumn equinoxes refer to those which are different in the two hemispheres.

Source: Wikipedia.org