THEThe calendar marks the arrival of the beautiful season, but this year qWhen does spring start? Always on the same date? In reality, 2026 is ahead of its time compared to the old school habits that taught us to set the date on March 21st.
When does spring begin 2026: equinox, date
In 2026 the appointment with the spring equinox is set for Friday 20 March at 3.46 pm Italian time. It will be at that precise moment that the Earth will reach a particular point in its orbit, officially kicking off a period of rebirth for the entire northern hemisphere, where we are.
To understand what happens during the equinox, we need to imagine the Earth in its journey around the Sun. Our planet, in fact, does not travel “straight”, but slightly tilted on its side. And it is precisely this inclination, the reason why the seasons exist. However, there are two times in the year when this inclination doesn’t seem to matter: they are the autumn and spring equinoxes. In these two moments the hours of light and darkness are equal. After that, the overtaking begins: and in the case of spring, it is the hours of light that finally overcome the hours of darknessfinally giving us long and warmer afternoons.
The myth of the twelve hours of light
To be precise, the idea that on this date day and night last exactly 12 hours each in every corner of the planet is very widespread, but in reality, things are slightly more nuanced. Due to some physical phenomenaIndeed, light wins over darkness for a few more minutes already on the day of the equinox.
The moment in which light and darkness divide time into identical parts, it is instead called equilucent. In Italy, this perfect balance has already been achieved a few days early, on March 17th. To be picky, it is from that moment that the days started to visibly “get longer”.a process that will culminate in June with the summer solstice.
With the spring equinox the light wins over the darkness again and the afternoons become very long. (Getty Images)
Because spring no longer falls on March 21st
One of the questions we often ask ourselves is why spring no longer arrives on March 21st as tradition dictates. The answer lies in the fact that our calendar is an approximation. A calendar year lasts 365 days, but it takes the Earth approximately 365 days, 5 hours and 48 minutes to complete one revolution around the Sun.
This gap of almost six hours each year slowly shifts the date with the equinox. To put things right we use leap years, adding a day to February every four years, but this is not enough to bring the date back to March 21st in the short term. In fact, the spring equinox will continue to fall on March 20 (or even the 19th) for a long time: to see it again on March 21st we will have to wait until 2102.
The awakening of peoples and the earth
In addition to astronomical calculations, the spring equinox brings with it a load of profound symbolic meanings. Almost every human culture celebrates this moment as a hymn to life triumphing over winter. In Italy, the date of Easter is calculated starting from the equinoxlinking the religious holiday to the rhythm of the cosmos.
In Japanit Shunbun no hi it is a national holiday dedicated to the admiration of flowering and the memory of ancestors. In Indiais celebrated Holithe famous festival of colors, where people throw colored powders at each other to celebrate the victory of good and the arrival of fertility. In Egyptthe tradition of Sham el Nessim dates back thousands of years, celebrating the beginning of the harvest and the renewal of nature.
Not just the spring equinox: towards summer time
The arrival of astronomical spring it is also the signal that another change is almost here important in our daily habits. A few days after the equinox, in fact, this year on the night between Saturday 28th and Sunday 29th March, daylight saving time will return. This will mean that we will move the clocks forward one hour, “stealing” a little sleep at night to gain an extra hour of light in the eveningready to fully enjoy the season that has just blossomed.