My regular readers know that Summer is absolutely my favorite season, so the official arrival of Spring last week was a good reason to celebrate in our household. One week ago, we had a vernal equinox, one of only two times during the year when the Sun is exactly above the equator which means that we are officially into Spring. Combined with the longer evenings thanks to the switch to Daylight Saving Time earlier this month, I am beginning to look at my flip flops and linen dresses longing for the days when I can wear them without looking ridiculous or being cold. This winter has seemed especially long with cold weather and various stresses and losses, so Spring is already shaping up to be a much better season in the Francis household.

Like most people in the 21st century, our schedules are dominated by appointments and paying a great deal of attention to our calendars and managing the many commitments that modern life seems to throw at us.

Most days I feel like I am planning a military operation with every 30 minute time slot accounted for.

All this made me think about earlier in history when the acknowledgement of passing time was dominated by nature, with earlier civilizations using the sun and moon to describe times of the day, month and seasons.

One of the few ways that we still look to the moon to fix a date is the timing of Easter, which will be late this year and takes place on Sunday April 20. Easter is always “observed on the first Sunday after the first full moon following the first day of spring (March 21) in the Northern Hemisphere.” This was decreed in the year 325AD by the Council of Nicaea, the Christian church’s first ecumenical council, and the term ‘moveable feast’ comes from this Christian holiday that falls on different dates. Somehow, I find it rather reassuring that in our highly structured lives today, the date of Easter each year is so variable and can fall on any Sunday between March 22 and April 25.

The sun moving through the sky has long been used to judge the time of day, but when early humans needed a way to keep time beyond a single day and night, they looked at the moon. The moon is nature’s timepiece as its face changes nightly and with the seasons. Of course, we now know that ocean tides are caused by the Moon’s gravitational pull and there are many theories about the effect of a full moon on people’s equilibrium, personalities and temperament.

It is interesting that cave paintings dated from about 40,000 years ago onwards show depictions of the natural world, often with a focus on animals and the night sky with stars and the moon. There is a theory that some of the decorations in caves were used to keep track of time by noting the different moon movements.

The early Native Americans also observed the seasons and lunar months to mark the passing of time, although there was much variability across different tribes. Some tribes defined a year as 12 moons, while others assigned it 13. Certain tribes that used the lunar calendar added an extra moon every few years, to keep it in sync with the seasons.

A full moon name used by one tribe might differ from one used by another tribe for the same time period or be the same name but represent a different time period. The name itself was often a description relating to a particular activity/event that usually occurred during that time in their location. For example, March’s full moon is referred to as the Full Worm Moon, named for earthworms that start to reappear as the ground thaws. My favorite month, June, has the ‘Full Strawberry Moon’ as it is associated with the blooming of strawberry plants.

Today, March 27, the moon is in a waning crescent phase, meaning it will be less than half illuminated and its illumination is decreasing. During this phase, only a small, crescent- shaped portion of the moon’s surface is visible on the left side here in the Northern Hemisphere.

Many cultures and traditions associate this phase with a time of rest, reflection, and new beginnings.

There is more information at www.fullmoonology. com www.timeanddate.com and www.history.com I say goodbye this week with a quote from that great positive-thinker, Norman VincentPeale: “Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars!”

God Bless America and enjoy your spring!

Lesley grew up in London, England and made Georgia her home in 2009. She can be contacted at lesley@francis.com or via her full-service marketing agency at www.lesleyfrancispr.com