Vernal Equinox Pictures: First-Day-of-Spring Celebrations

Kurdish Spring Festival

Photograph by Safin Hamed, AFP/Getty Images

Men celebrate the Nauruz spring festival in the Kurdish town of Akra in Iraq's Mosul region on March 20, 2010. Also known as the Persian New Year, Nauruz coincides with the spring equinox.

Published March 20, 2012

Driving Out the Devils

Photograph by Michael Nichols, National Geographic

Residents of Bali, Indonesia, celebrate Nyepi, a yearly feast that marks the spring equinox, in an undated picture.

During the purification ritual, each community drives out its "devils" with magical curses and rioting, which is followed by a day of absolute stillness.

Published March 20, 2012

Goat-Dragging Game

Photograph by Igor Kovalenko

Horse riders participate in the sport of kok-boru, or goat-dragging, during the Nauruz festival in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, on last year's spring equinox. During kok-boru, players try to grab a goat carcass and place it in their opponent's goal.

Published March 20, 2012

Traditional Dancer

Photograph by Susana Gonzalez, Getty Images

A traditional dancer performs in front of a pyramid during spring equinox rituals in Teotihuacan, Mexico, on March 21, 2003.

Each year thousands flock to the ancient pyramids to welcome the first day of spring and absorb what many people believe to be the special energy of the site, according to the Getty wire service.

Published March 20, 2012

Afghan New Year

Photograph by Majid Saeedi, Getty Images

Wooden horses hang from a swing during the Nauruz, or Persian New Year, celebrations on March 22, 2010, in Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan. The festival coincides with the spring equinox.

Published March 20, 2012

Ancestor Prayer

Photograph by Stephen Morrison, European Pressphoto Agency

A man prays for his ancestors during the festival of Qing Ming at a monastery in Singapore on April 5, 2010.

Also known as Ancestors Day or Tomb Sweeping Day, Qing Ming is a traditional Chinese festival that begins on the 104th day after the winter solstice, or the 15th day after the spring equinox.

Published March 20, 2012

White-Clad Performers

Photograph by Shamil Zhumatov, Reuters

Swaddled in white, artists perform during a Nauruz celebration in Almaty, Kazahkstan, on March 22, 2007. An ancient holiday marking the spring equinox, Nauruz is widely celebrated across Central Asia and in several other regions.

Published March 20, 2012

Colorful Feast

Photograph by Yuri Kochetkov

A nomad woman in Baikonur, Kazahkstan, sets a lively table in her tent for Nauruz, the Persian New Year, which is celebrated on the spring equinox and traditionally features visits with family and friends.

Published March 20, 2012

Tsunami Prayers

Photograph by Kimimasa Mayama

The devastating tsunami of March 2011 added poignancy to the observance of Vernal Equinox Day in Minami Sanriku, a town in northern Japan affected by the disaster, seen above shortly afterward. On the first day of spring, many Buddhist people in Japan visit the graves of their ancestors to clean the stones, offer flowers, and burn incense.

Published March 20, 2012

Spring Flowers

Photograph by Ahmed al-Rubaye, AFP/Getty Images

A Kurdish girl in traditional dress pops up from the sunroof of a car in northern Iraq on the eve of Nauruz, the Persian New Year, in 2004. The ancient Zoroastrian holiday happens during the spring equinox and is kicked off by cleaning house and buying flowers.

Published March 20, 2012

Circle of Life

Photograph by Peter Marshall, Alamy

Clad all in white, members of the Druid Order hold hands on the spring equinox in Tower Hill, London, in 2009.

Published March 20, 2012

Next: Vernal Equinox 2010 Pictures >>

Photograph by Matt Cardy, Getty Images

Published March 20, 2012