Celebrating Vernal Equinox

Our ancestors observed vernal, or spring, equinox when the sun's path across the sky fell midway between its lowest winter path and its highest summer path. It marks the Northern Hemisphere's first day of spring and the Southern Hemisphere's first day of autumn.

Each year, by this time, we observe, in the Northern Hemisphere, earlier sunrises and later sunsets. In the lower latitudes, of the Northern Hemisphere, we already see plants sprouting and trees leafing out, as the spring's longer, warmer days wake the plants from their winter rest. Our brothers and sisters to the south of the equator, begin to see the days shorten and feel the cool autumn air.

In both hemispheres, one sees the migration of our winged relatives, away from the equator, in the north, and towards it in the south. Wildflowers begin to pop their heads above the snow or leaf litter, celebrating the beginning of their growth seasons.

Major Equinox Celebrations

Vernal equinox customs and celebrations vary from region to region and culture to culture. Throughout Latin America's native pueblos, local flavors, aromas, colors, flora, and fauna play a role in the celebration of the native traditions.

Ecuador

Source: Wikimedia Commons

The Golden Equinox Festival, Ecuador

Ecuador seems to really celebrate the vernal equinox in good, old-fashioned style, with their feet planted on the ground and their eyes to the sky. According to their Golden Equinox Festival (Festival Equinoccio de Oro) organizers,

Source: Ministerio de Turismo de Ecuador

"For the ancestral pueblos, especially those of the “Valle de Lulumbamba,” the Equinox ... marked the beginning of the new solar year and the celebration of the harvest of the first fruits of the season, forseeing the passage of the sun over the earth that offered its fruits, especially corn, from its heart."

Their celebration includes sacred rituals, praise, and offerings from the Pacha Mama (Mother Earth) and ascending to the great Inti, or Sun. Event activities, giving thanks, celebrate with music, food, and dance.

Equinox Party: The Celebration of Corn, Quito, Ecuador

Ecuador celebrates its "Fiesta del Equinoccio: La Celebración del Maíz" in close association with the agricultural cycle, within which corn plays an especially important role economically and culturally. The ancient inhabitants of Ecuador and the neighboring countries considered corn, or maiz, a symbol of fertility and a vital component within the native cosmovision. The vernal equinox, in their ancient culture, marked the beginning of the new solar / lunar year ... a time of rebirth and recreation.

Source: Ministerio de Turismo de Ecuador

The country celebrates this ancestral event in the Pichincha Province, along with the Municipality of Pedro Moncayo, by lighting and sharing the Mushuk Nina (New Fire) at the Cochasquí Archaeological and Scientific Research Park (Parque Arqueológico y de Investigación Científica Cochasquí). The celebration includes a Festival de Comida de Granos Tiernos en la Comuna de Cochasqui  (Tender Kernal Food Festival in the Cochasqui Commons), the Mushuk Nina fire watch, regional art, pampamesa (communal table), curing ceremonies, and cleansing.

Mexico

Source: Wikimedia Commons

The Festival of the Spring Equinox Sun, City of Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico 

The City of Juarez, in northern Mexico's state of Chihuahua, through its Museo de Arqueología del Chamizal (Archeological Museum of the Chamizal) celebrates with its Festival del Sol Equinoccio de Primavera (Festival of the Spring Equinox Sun). The festival honors the region's traditions and cultural diversity, through its resident natives in Juarez City and throughout the state of Chihuahua. Its ethnocultural encounter includes ancestral rituals, musical instruments, traditional dance, music, vestitures, and arts and crafts.

Source: Televisa

The Festival Equinoccio San Andrés Cholula, Puebla, Mexico

The Festival Equinoccio in the San Andrés Cholula Municipality of Puebla, Mexico, promotes the conservation of local traditions and culture through its Festival Equinoccio de Primavera (Spring Equinox Festival). Their events have included the "Ritual to Quetzalcóatl," performed by the , prehispanic dances, the dance of fire, temazcales, Cholulteca pulque (the drink of the gods), concerts in the Cholula Archaeological Zone, local crafts, gastronomic delights, and other family activities centered around the preservation of prehispanic traditions in the region.

Source: Oronoticias

Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla Folk Ballet

The Benemerita University of Puebla celebrates the equinox performing the “Ritual a Quetzalcóatl” (Quetzalcoatl's Ritual). The performance includes some of the most representative rituals of the season, music, and poetry ... all dedicated to Mexico's prehispanic culture.

Source: Noticias MVS

Quetzalcoatl, a deity in the form of a feathered serpent, according to the Nahuatl-speaking population of Mesoamerica, the Aztecs, wears a wind breastplate, known as "ehecailacocozcatl." This deity, representing the wind and learning played, by different names, an important role in Aztec and Mayan beliefs.

Chichen Itzá Equinox, Yucatan, Mexico

Probably one of the most well-known of the equinox ceremonies in Mexico occurs twice a year, once in the spring and again in the fall, at Chichen Itzá, in Mexico's state of Yucatan. The ruins, which the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) includes the ruins on its World Heritage list, and the site attracts more than two million visitors a year, according to the Chichen Itza Daily Blog.

Source: El Diario de Yucatan

During the equinox at Chichén Itzá the sun creates an illusion of a serpent, Kukulcán (or Quetzalcóatl), crawling slowly on the northern stairway. This feathered snake unites the heavens, the earth, the underworld, the day, and the night. Visitors to the site, during the equinox, can enjoy its carnival-like atmosphere, with concerts featuring both contemporary and traditional music, folk dancing, and other native traditions.

Spring Equinox at La Quemada, Zacatecas

The Secretary of Infrastructure (La Secretaría de Infraestructura - SINFRA) and the National Institute of Antropology and History (Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia - INAH), in the Mexican State of Zacatecas, sponsor an annual "Equinoccio de Primavera" in their Zona Arqueológica La Quemada (La Quemada Archaeological Zone). Activities include scientific, academic, and cultural workshops and other events, with the idea of revitalizing information about the archaeological site.

Source: Zacatecas Online

The sponsors look to educate visitors about the importance of the equinox phenomena in the prehispanic cultures of the region and promote interest in protecting the state's archeological sites. 

The Festival of the Equinox Art and Culture, Tulancingo, Hidalgo, Mexico

Tulancingo's "Festival de Arte y Cultura Equinoccio" at “El Centro Cultural Ricardo Garibay” and “El Café Cultural” includes musical entertainment, an art and culture party in the Valle de Tulancingo, authors and artists, artistic awards, entertainers, and artistic workshops.

Source: www.tulcancingo.com.mx

The event has included speakers, concerts, folk dancing and other activities related to the prehispanic culture. Presenters include local, state, national, and even international participants.

Panama

Source: Wikimedia Commons

Spring Equinox Festival, Panama

Panama celebrates the vernal equinox with a balloon festival during its "Festival del Equinoccio de Primavera." It holds the festival in the Teotihuacan Archeological Site, Panamanians celebrate the spring and fall celestial phenomenon, remembering the traditions of sowing seed and the harvests.

Source: La Estrella de Panama

Minor Equinox Celebrations

When I say "minor," here, I'm referring not to the importance of these events ... nor the total number of participants continent-wide ..., but, rather, to the number of participants at a single site. Throughout Mexico and other Latin American countries, groups and individuals celebrate the vernal equinox in temazcal circles, local archaeological sites, on vision quests, and through other social get-togethers.

Source: AbsoluteViajes.com

In Durango, for example, many people make "peregrinaciones" (pilgrimages) to La Ferrería Archaeological Zone, similar to Zacatecas' site, La Quemada. Likewise, temazcaleros and other people visit sites considered sacred or otherwise important in terms of the equinox event. It's often a simple opportunity to celebrate and share, especially for groups that regularly meet, like the temazcaleros, to celebrate natural phenomena.

Personal Equinox Celebration

My most memorable equinox celebration occurred at La Bufa, Durango, on the mountainside, participating in a vision quest, several revolutions around the sun ago. In absence of a local vision quest group organizing another quest, I have celebrated most years with a thoughtful, environmentally friendly meal, a few words with my spouse, friends, and family.

Source: Pixabay

I'd like to know how you celebrate the vernal equinox in your circle, group, or as an individual. 

• How do you celebrate vernal equinox?
• How do others that you know celebrate this changing of the seasons?
• Does your community celebrate vernal equinox?
• Do you know of other major or minor events that you'd like to share with us?

We would really like to hear from you. Feel free to jump into the comments below!

...con todas mis relaciones! Aho!