Today, March 21, is the vernal, or spring, equinox. It is called the equinox because night and day are of equal length. It marks the first day of spring in the northern hemisphere. Winter is officially over, although that doesn’t mean that we can’t get snow after today. It is unlikely, but there have been times in the Chicago area where we’ve had snow as late as the first week in April, actually. Of course, weather depends on a particular location, especially on latitude. The further north you go, the more likely you are to have winter-like weather despite the calendar telling you it’s spring.
Some people do “spring cleaning.” People like to take advantage of the nicer weather by opening the windows and get some fresh air after having things all buttoned up again the cold all winter. Spring cleaning gives people the chance to put away their winter clothes, boots, snow shovels, etc. If you have children, it might be a time of going through their clothes, discarding what has become too small and assessing which new clothes may need to be purchased. It’s a time to clean the windows so the bright spring sunshine is able to come in. In the old days where people had area rugs instead of wall-to-wall carpeting, it was also a time to take the rugs outside for a beating to get rid of the winter dust and dirt, and give them a good airing so they would smell fresh. Because of all the work associated with these tasks, the term “spring cleaning” has come to represent a thorough, complete cleaning.