Spring
Spring is one of the four seasons of the year, following winter and preceding summer. The definition and duration of it varies, from the meteorological point of view; It is typical of temperate zones and corresponds to an intermediate time between the cold season, winter, and the warm season, summer. From the point of view of astronomy, it begins on the spring equinox, which corresponds to March 20/21 in the northern hemisphere and September 22/23 in the southern hemisphere. In the calendar spring corresponds to the months of March, April, October and November.
This season is traditionally identified with the rebirth of nature, an increase in average temperatures, snowmelt, the flowering of plants, the awakening of hibernating animals and the return of migratory species. These characteristics have made it used as a metaphor for the renewal of life or its first development.
Etymology
In Latin, the word for spring is vēr, vēris, which comes from the Proto-Indo-European *wesr̥. The beginning of this period was known as primo vēre, literally, "the beginning of spring", which gave in Vulgar Latin: prima vera, with the same meaning. The word appears attested around 1490.
However, the name of the season was summer, from the form verānum tĕmpŭs, literally “spring time”. This is what Nebrija says about the astronomical seasons: «The year is divided into four quarters, which are distinguished by four terms: two solstices, one of winter, on the smallest day of the year, and another of summer, on the largest day of the year.; and two equinoxes, one of the summer, when in the month of March they equal the nights with the days, and another in the autumn, when in the month of September they again equal the nights with the days.» They are also mentioned by this name in Covarrubias's Treasury of the Language: summer (the current spring), when the sun enters Aries, summer (the current summer, derived from the Latin aestas, aestivus), corresponding to Cancer, autumn, marked by the passage of the sun to Libra, and winter that begins with the sun in Capricorn. At the same time we read in Cervantes: «Spring follows summer, summer follows summer, summer follows autumn, and autumn follows winter, and winter follows spring, and thus time returns to walk with this continuous wheel. ». At this time the period that goes from mid-March to mid-September (in the northern hemisphere, of course) is designated with three names: «spring», at the beginning, «summer», in its intermediate part and « summer” until the end of the season.
In the XVIII century the Dictionary of authorities (1726 - 1739) indicates that summer It is, by its etymology, spring, but that use has made it synonymous with summer, regularly to designate the time of summer. It makes, then, synonymous with summer and summer. At this time the use of spring begins to designate the entire season, which becomes common and normative at the end of the XVIII century.
Meteorological calculation
Meteorologists generally define four seasons in many climate areas: spring, summer, fall, and winter. These are determined by the values of their average temperatures on a monthly basis, and each season lasts three months. The three warmest months are, by definition, summer, the three coldest months are winter, and the intervals in between are spring and fall. Therefore, the meteorological spring can begin on different dates in different regions.
In the US and UK, the spring months are March, April and May.
In Australia and New Zealand, spring begins on September 1 and ends on November 30.
In Ireland, following the Gaelic calendar, spring is often defined as February, March and April.
In Sweden, meteorologists define early spring as the first time the 24-hour average temperature exceeds zero degrees Celsius for seven consecutive days, so the date varies with latitude and elevation.
In Brazil, the spring months are September, October and November.
Duration
Astronomically, this season begins with the spring equinox (March 20 or 21 in the northern hemisphere and September 22 or 23 in the southern hemisphere) and ends with the summer solstice (around September 20 or 21). June in the northern hemisphere and December 21 or 22 in the southern hemisphere). In the intertropical zone of the northern hemisphere it begins on March 21 and lasts until September 23. In the intertropical zone of the southern hemisphere it goes from September 24 to March 21.
However, in urban areas it is advanced due to the heat island effect.
The dry season also ends around June 21 in the Northern Hemisphere and December 21 in the Southern Hemisphere.
It follows the rainy season and precedes the dry season.
Climate
As far as the climate is concerned, a very slow and progressive increase in the temperature level is common as the weeks progress, with some intervening period in which the winter atmosphere can "reappear" due to some cold air masses residuals. Precipitation tends to be more irregular and less widespread, discharging in the form of showers and thunderstorms more likely in the mid to late season, when summer approaches. The leaves and flowers of deciduous trees gradually regrow, bringing color back to the landscape after winter.
In recent years, global warming has accelerated the transition from winter to summer.
Culture
Spring can also refer to ideas of rebirth, rejuvenation, renewal, resurrection, and new growth. In literature, spring represents the youth, time or phase of a person's life in which it is said that they are in the "flower of life" since in spring the plants bloom, there are many birds, the sun shines more and the days are longer.
Festivities
In Venezuela, «Spring Day» is celebrated on March 19, coinciding with the celebration of «San José Day».
In Argentina, "Spring Day" is celebrated on September 21, coinciding with the celebration of "Student's Day". On this same date, Paraguay commemorates "Spring and Youth Day".
In Peru, however, the "Day of Spring and Youth" is celebrated every September 23. In Mexico, the arrival of spring is celebrated on March 21 along with the birth of Benito Juárez.