Spring is officially here. For many in the Northern Hemisphere, that means warmer temperatures, new blooms, a fresh wardrobe, holiday celebrations, baseball season, spring break and more.
What are your favorite things about this time of year?
The New York Times has been reporting on the arrival of the season across sections. In a column about gardening, Margaret Roach writes about noticing the first signs of spring in nature:
Is it spring yet?
The calendar insists that the new season arrives in the Northern Hemisphere precisely on March 20. Instead we can piece together a more textured sense of its start from real-time clues: the first shoots poking through the soil surface, perhaps, or leaf buds swelling and gradually opening. Is the shadbush (Amelanchier) — always one of the first bloomers — awake yet, or have the magnolias’ furry bud scales parted to make way for the blooms?
Was it spring when the Eastern chipmunks, absent since late fall, were suddenly scurrying around in numbers the last week of February? Or will it not truly arrive until the first peeper peeps, or I see a mourning cloak butterfly on the wing — a species that overwinters as an adult even here in my Northern zone, hence its early flight?
Spring is also a holiday season for many around the world. Christians celebrate Easter. Jews celebrate Passover. In Iran and beyond, more than 300 million people celebrate Nowruz, the Persian New Year, which is tied to the spring equinox. This video explains:
And, of course, spring is the beginning of baseball season. The Athletic reports on Opening Day this past Thursday:
Jackson Chourio adjusted his batting gloves as he walked toward the plate at Yankee Stadium. The 21-year-old Milwaukee Brewers left fielder shook hands with New York Yankees catcher Austin Wells, then he bent down and touched the dirt. He stepped his right foot into the batters’ box and his left foot followed. He wiggled his bat and waited.
At 3:13 pm ET on Thursday, Chourio swung at the first pitch of Opening Day. It was a 96-mph fastball for strike one from Yankees left-hander Carlos Rodón. A fastball and a slider later, Rodón had the day’s first strikeout. Wells hit the first home run a half-inning after that.
And suddenly baseball was back.
For others, spring might mean a wardrobe refresh. The Style section suggests trying the color butter yellow, which Jodi Kahn, the vice president of luxury fashion at Neiman Marcus, said “will be the fashion color for the spring season.”
And in “Lightening Up,” the March 8 edition of The Morning Newsletter, Melissa Kirsch writes about what the return of lighter evenings and longer days means for us:
“Daylight Saving Time Begins.” That entry on the calendar always reads like a triumphant return, a welcome back. We tried this “standard time” thing all winter, tried being measured and responsible with how we spent our time, and now, exhale, finally, that’s over. Now, we will loosen up. Now we will stop being so withholding and rigid with our time, with our presence, with our imaginations. Now a perfectly good Saturday plan is just to meet up outside and see what develops. The season of scarcity is coming to a close and now we will spend ourselves with abandon.
Students, read any of the articles above, and then tell us:
How do you feel about spring? What do you like best and least about this time of year? Why?
What are the first signs of spring where you live? What sights, sounds or smells tell you the season has arrived?
Do you celebrate any holidays this time of year? If so, what are they? What do you and your family or community do to mark the event?
Are there any other spring rituals you take part in, such as spring cleaning, getting new clothes, planting fresh seeds or going to an Opening Day game? What do these annual routines mean to you?
In her newsletter, Ms. Kirsch describes this time of year as “a triumphant return, a welcome back” after a season of contracting. What does spring feel like to you?
Students 13 and older in the United States and Britain, and 16 and older elsewhere, are invited to comment. All comments are moderated by the Learning Network staff, but please keep in mind that once your comment is accepted, it will be made public and may appear in print.
Find more Student Opinion questions here. Teachers, check out this guide to learn how you can incorporate these prompts into your classroom.
