This year , the vernal equinox officially arrives on Tuesday , March 19 at 11:06 pm in Washington , D.C .
今年的春分正式時間是華盛頓特區時間3月19日星期二晚上11點06分。
That is 3:06 UTC on Wednesday , March 20 .
也就是協調世界時3月20日星期三3點06分。
At that time , the sun will be exactly above the Earth's equator .
那一刻，太陽將正好位於地球赤道的正上方。
The word vernal comes from the Latin word vernalis , meaning “of the spring .”
vernal一詞來自拉丁語vernalis，意思是「春天的」。
And equinox comes from the Latin words aequus , meaning equal , and nox , meaning night .
而equinox來自拉丁語aequus（意為相等）和nox（意為夜晚）。
The day has 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of nighttime .
這一天有12個小時的白天和12個小時的黑夜。
And in the Northern Hemisphere , the day marks the beginning of spring .
在北半球，這一天標誌著春天的開始。
On this day , people living in colder areas of the Northern Hemisphere hope they can put away their winter clothes .
這一天，生活在北半球較冷地區的人們希望可以把冬衣收起來了。
They also may soon start planting flowers and vegetables in a garden .
他們也可能很快開始在園子裡種花種菜。
Here in Washington , D.C ., March 20 also marks the first day of the National Cherry Blossom Festival .
在華盛頓特區，3月20日也是全國櫻花節的第一天。
Each year , people from around the world come to see the beautiful pink and white blossoms on the thousands of flowering cherry trees .
每年，來自世界各地的人們都會來觀賞數千棵櫻花樹上美麗的粉色和白色花朵。
For Washingtonians , the cherry blossoms are a welcome sign that spring has arrived .
對華盛頓人來說，櫻花是春天到來的可喜信號。
In ancient times , some cultures built structures to signal the start of spring .
在古代，一些文化建造了用來標示春天開始的建築。
Around the year 1000 A.D ., for example , the Maya built a pyramid in what is now Mexico's Yucatan .
例如，大約在西元1000年，馬雅人在今天墨西哥的猶加敦建造了一座金字塔。
It sits within an ancient city called Chichen Itza .
它坐落在一座名為奇琴伊察的古城中。
On the spring equinox , the sunlight hits in a way that makes the structure look like a snake .
在春分這天，陽光的照射方式會讓這座建築看起來像一條蛇。
The Maya called this day “the return of the Sun serpent .”
馬雅人把這一天稱為「太陽之蛇的回歸」。
Today , cultures worldwide have their own ways of identifying and celebrating the arrival of spring .
如今，世界各地的文化都有自己辨識和慶祝春天到來的方式。
In Japan , spring is marked with a huge cherry blossom festival , known as hanami .
在日本，人們以盛大的櫻花節——「花見」來迎接春天。
The tradition dates back more than a thousand years .
這一傳統可以追溯到一千多年前。
People gather under the blooming trees to eat , drink tea , celebrate and enjoy the cherry blossoms , known as sakura in Japanese .
人們聚集在盛開的樹下吃東西、喝茶、慶祝，欣賞日語中稱為「sakura」的櫻花。
Artists and poets celebrate the short-lived blooms as a symbol of beauty .
藝術家和詩人把這些短暫綻放的花朵視為美的象徵來歌頌。
The gift was to honor the lasting friendship between the United States and Japan .
這份禮物是為了紀念美國和日本之間持久的友誼。
For many countries in Central Asia and the Middle East , the vernal equinox also marks the beginning of a new year .
對中亞和中東的許多國家來說，春分也標誌著新年的開始。
Countries along the ancient Silk Road trading path , including Afghanistan , Iran , Turkey , Uzbekistan , and other Central Asian nations , celebrate Nowruz .
古代絲綢之路貿易路線沿線的國家，包括阿富汗、伊朗、土耳其、烏茲別克和其他中亞國家，都會慶祝諾魯孜節。
In the past , Iran was the only country where Nowruz was an official holiday .
過去，伊朗是唯一將諾魯孜節定為正式假日的國家。
But after countries gained their independence following the fall of the Soviet Union , many made Nowruz a national holiday , as well .
但在蘇聯解體、這些國家獲得獨立後，許多國家也將諾魯孜節定為國定假日。
During Nowruz , people visit family members and friends and exchange gifts .
諾魯孜節期間，人們走親訪友，互贈禮物。
Iranian families set up a “haft seen ” display of seven special items that represent spring and new beginnings .
伊朗家庭會擺出「七鮮桌」，用七樣特別的物品象徵春天和新的開始。
In Uzbekistan and other places in Central Asia , people watch wrestling events , horse races and a special horseback game called , in Uzbek , Kopkari .
在烏茲別克和中亞其他地方，人們觀看摔角比賽、賽馬，以及一種烏茲別克語稱為「Kopkari」的特殊馬上遊戲。
In this game , two teams of players on horseback try to get the body of a headless goat into a goal .
在這項遊戲中，兩隊騎手爭相把一隻無頭山羊的軀體送進球門。
This year , Holi will take place on March 25 .
今年的灑紅節將在3月25日舉行。
People celebrate the festival by covering each other in -- you guessed it -- colors !
人們慶祝這個節日的方式是互相塗抹——你猜對了——各種顏色！
Children especially enjoy the festival , as they get to throw colored powder and water-filled balloons at others .
孩子們尤其喜歡這個節日，因為他們可以向別人扔彩色粉末和水球。
Some say the festival comes from a story of the burning of the devil Holika .
有人說，這個節日源於焚燒惡魔霍利卡的故事。
It represents the victory of good over evil , or the arrival of spring after a long , dark winter .
它象徵著善戰勝惡，或是漫長黑暗的冬天過後春天的到來。
Others say the celebration was inspired by the story of two young lovers with different skin colors .
另一些人說，這個節日的靈感來自一對膚色不同的年輕戀人的故事。
Krishna , who has blue skin , was in love with Radha .
皮膚是藍色的克里希納愛上了拉達。
So , he colored Radha with paint leading to the modern-day colorful festival of love .
於是，他用顏料給拉達塗上顏色，由此演變成今天五彩繽紛的愛之節日。
It is a wild street festival involving fire .
這是一個有火參與的狂野街頭節日。
The festival centers on the creation – and burning – of huge colorful statues made of wood , paper and plastic .
這個節日的核心是製作並焚燒用木頭、紙和塑膠做成的巨大彩色雕像。
The statues are meant to look like real people .
這些雕像被做得像真人一樣。
Valencian communities and organizations work all year to create these structures and place them throughout the city , with fireworks inside .
瓦倫西亞的社區和組織花一整年時間製作這些雕像，並在裡面裝上煙火，放置在城市各處。
Las Fallas celebrations began on March 15 , with events like bullfights , parades , and cooking and beauty competitions .
法雅節慶祝活動於3月15日開始，有鬥牛、遊行以及烹飪和選美比賽等活動。
Then , at midnight on March 19 , the city turns off all its streetlights and the statues are set on fire .
然後，在3月19日午夜，全城熄滅所有路燈，雕像被點燃。
This marks the end of the festival and the beginning of spring .
這標誌著節日的結束和春天的開始。
And I'm John Russell .
我是約翰·羅素。