Today is the Spring Equinox! Although the weather still feels like winter, I’m beginning to see the first signs of Spring. The snowbells abound and the Virginia bluebells are about to bloom. But what exactly is the Spring Equinox and why am I so excited about it?
If you live in the Northern Hemisphere, the Spring Equinox happens when the sun crosses the equator and heads north. After today, the Northern Hemisphere tilts more and more toward the sun. While today has an equal amount of daylight and nighttime around the world (hence the word equinox which comes from the Latin words aequus (equal) and nox (night) meaning “equal night”), starting tomorrow the days get longer and longer. On the other hand, in the Southern Hemisphere, the days will get shorter and shorter as they enter the season of autumn.
So from today on, the weather gets warmer and the days get longer. So who doesn’t want to celebrate that? One of the craziest legends about this has to do with eggs, the universal symbol of rebirth. On this day only, you can stand a raw egg on its end and it won’t fall over. This idea supposedly came from the Chinese who would create artistic masterpieces with thousand of eggs standing upright. While I’ve tried this a few times, I’ve never gotten it to work… except for once. And that was during the middle of the summer. Still, it’s a fun activity to do with the kids.
Another fun activity is to celebrate this day with food. Specifically, a Chopin Vodka Spring Equinox Cocktail that I first tried in Charleston, SC. So if you’re looking for a special, adult way to celebrate the coming Spring, I’d give this a try. Even if you don’t like it, it is beautiful.
Chopin Spring Equinox Cocktail
Ingredients
- 2 ounces Chopin vodka
- ¾ ounce Saint Germain
- ¼ ounce Salers Aperitif
- ¼ ounce Aperol
- ½ ounce lime juice
- splash ginger ale
- dried orange slices for garnish
Instructions
-
Fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Add all of the ingredients into the shaker and shake for 10 seconds. Strain the drink into a glass with2 ice cubes. Top off the cocktail with ginger ale.
