Spring has sprung

Those who deem the winter solstice in December to be ‘the year’s midnight’ hail today’s equinox as the dawn of a new year. In Scotland this pagan custom ended only in the year 1600, although vestiges of the ancient system remain in the United Kingdom, reflected in the fiscal year still commencing around this time. Today’s British taxpayers know this full well!

  

In England and Wales 1751 began on March 25 and lasted 282 days, and 1752 began on January 1. 

All this progress notwithstanding, I persist in my inclination to see the vernal equinox as the day we awaken to a fresh year, one which we must do our best to fill with meaning,