How Do You Celebrate the Spring Equinox?

Are you tired of cold, dreary weather? Snow and ice are 'pretty', but not when roads are impassable, wires and trees fall, and your nose reddens. Spring is nearly here! Actually, it technically begins with the vernal equinox, which this year will be March 20, 2014 at 12:57 P.M. EDT. Although I live in central North Carolina, aka America's south, I cannot wait until warm days, budding trees, and flowers bloom even more. We have already experienced a couple of 70+ degree F days, but wind, rain, and cold keep bouncing back.

I already knew that the word equinox is derived from the Latin words meaning “equal night” meaning that days and nights are approximately equal, all around the world. The Sun rises and sets due east and west. At the equinoxes, the tilt of Earth relative to the Sun is zero. It really is extraordinary that for one special moment, the Earth’s axis neither points toward nor away from the Sun. 

Since many of my books include characters that use witchcraft, or 'witchery', in their lives, I looked into what this special day means. Many meanings can be found while researching, so I instead wanted to express the following:
Traditional foods eaten in celebration: dairy foods, nuts from pumpkins, sunflowers, leafy green veggies, sprouts.
Flowers gathered: violets, olive, gorse, jonquils, peonies, iris, and daffodils (my favorite!)
Some burn incense such as strawberry, jasmine, and rose. I also hear that the gemstone, Jasper, is exceptionally powerful on this day.
* some info derived from http://wicca.com/celtic/akasha/ostara.htm

Nancy Lee Badger
*Check out the books in my Highland Games Through Time series, where witches meet their destined mates! Available in eBook and print everywhere!