THE SUN crosses the celestial equator, and with that the great contest between light and dark comes into a moment's pause. The vernal equinox means that day and night are more or less equal.
Spring celebrates the possibility of rebirth, and also of balance.
The long, uneven night of death is reversed. But because nature is cyclical, of course, that hope is dashed as the sun moves on. The days will lengthen now only to shorten later. The first great evil of the 20th century was the decision made by the rulers of Europe to continue sending wave after wave of young men into the maw of No Man's Land, even after the futility of such assault was clear. In recent years, the human race has been offered a reprieve from all of this.