Ah, the vernal equinox. It's my favorite equinox. I even prefer it to either solstice! The vernal equinox, of course, marks the beginning of Spring, and there's nothing like Spring in Virginia.

The vernal equinox also means that we're getting close to Easter. As everyone knows, Easter is the Sunday after the first full moon following the vernal equinox.

Here's your second Easter trivia tidbit of the day, from Greek Orthodox priest, Gregory MacGregor: "The term Easter comes from the spring festival of Eastre, honoring the pagan goddess of fertility. She was symbolized by the rabbit, which is where the Easter Bunny started. Since the pagan festival fell at approximately the same time as the Feast of the Resurrection, the feast became commonly called Easter in the West, during the assimilation of pagans into Christianity."

Orthodox Christians shy away from honoring a pagan goddess and, instead, call the Feast of the Resurrection "Pascha." "The term Pascha comes from the Hebrew word pesah, a yearling lamb that was sacrificed at Passover....Christ is our Passover Lamb, who gave himself for the life of the world (1 Corinthians 5:7)."