Lifelong Learning: Journey to Decolonize Deepening the Experience - Celebrating Spring, Connection, and Community!
- Kimberlee Bow, Ph.D.
- Mar 25
- 4 min read
Spring has sprung in the Northern Hemisphere! On March 20th or 21st, depending on your perspective, the Sun crossed the celestial equator (The celestial equator is the imaginary line in the sky corresponding to the Earth's equator), moving from the south to the north. On the equinox, both hemispheres receive about the same amount of sunlight, as neither is tilted more toward or away from the Sun. Our ancestors worldwide understood the importance of the equinoxes and the solstices. Their awareness and understanding manifested in many ways, such as in architecture. Take these incredible structures as examples:
Stonehenge (England)
Machu Picchu (Peru)
Chichen Itza (Mexico)
Chaco Canyon (New Mexico, USA)
Newgrange (Ireland)
The Great Sphinx and Pyramid of Khafre (Egypt)
More than some fantastic structures, our ancestors remind us of the importance of honoring and remembering our connection to nature.
Traditions in the World Celebrating Spring
When Spring arrives, the world comes alive with color, water (Yes, water!), and celebration. Let’s take a quick look at a few celebrations from around the globe. In Thailand, the celebration of the Songkran Water Festival arrives just after the equinox as a welcome to the traditional New Year’s Day. This celebration includes visiting elders, visiting a Buddhist monastery, and throwing water with the help of an elephant.
In other parts of the world, such as Mexico and Spain, Semana Santa invites colorful parades, church services, firework displays, and ceremonies that include placing crosses on a stone overlook. In Asia, Holi is a Hindu celebration where colored powder is thrown to celebrate events from Hindu mythology. The Persian New Year is honored in the celebration of Nowruz, which usually happens on the first day of Spring. Passover is also observed during this time. This week-long holy holiday remembers the story of the Israelites’ deliverance from slavery in Egypt. The “seder plate” items represent symbolic foods connected to the story. These are only a few examples of the many celebrations that occur worldwide.
Celebrating Spring and Our Connections to Culture
We can take many themes from understanding the many cultural rituals and rites surrounding Spring. We will not have time to cover all of them, but we can cover a few highlights. One identifiable theme is a connection to culture. These celebrations honor aspects, stories, experiences, and traditions that connect to specific cultural elements, whether spiritual or secular. So, as students or professionals, we return to the importance of learning about culture and engaging those we interact with from a culturally-responsive place. Another theme is connecting to nature, and in this case, spring.
Our ancestors had a great understanding of nature and our connection to nature. It is through the plants that grow that we experience shade and have food; for example, through the rushing rivers, we have water to drink. Our connection to animals is complex and just as essential as they serve as a source of food, transportation, and connection. An additional theme is that of community. In many of these celebrations, people come together as a community and/or family, reminding us of the power of community connection and the evolution of humans into social creatures. Some things bind us together as humans, and cultural differences encourage us to engage and learn. There is space to honor both. Nature reminds us of that. We can hold paradoxes, come together, and learn and grow.
Final Thoughts
This month’s post was heavy on information. This was done with purpose. The hope is that you will leave feeling curious about other spring traditions, including your own. Maybe you learned about a new Spring tradition, or perhaps you were inspired to dive into one to learn more, or maybe you have decided to research and learn more about your ancestors' connection to the changing seasons. To decolonize our thinking, we need to not only understand other cultures and ways of being, but also understand and connect with our traditions and ancestors to cultivate skills such as compassion, empathy, engagement, determination, and many more things that we will need to bring change to the world and ourselves. Let spring guide you as you keep taking steps. Spring brings a sense of renewal as nature always finds a way.
What’s Next?
Now it is your turn to reflect on your Spring traditions. What traditions do you currently have? What did your ancestors do to celebrate Spring?
Take some additional time to reflect on other themes you noticed from Spring traditions? What caught your attention? What did not catch your attention? Both are important to see!
And one final task for you: Take some time to learn more about other Spring traditions and celebrations that were not even mentioned in this post. Below are a few examples that you may explore, but they are not the only ones.
Cooper's Hill Cheese-Rolling and Wake
Holla Mohalla
Cimburijada (Festival of Scrambled Eggs)
Walpurgis Night
Las Fallas
Spring Equinox in Teotihuacán
Practical Tips and Suggestions
Remain curious! Curiosity allows us to approach situations from a more nonjudgmental place and helps us remember that we are learning on a journey.
Continue to explore different traditions, celebrations, and cultural practices. We can learn a lot from learning about traditions and celebrations. If you are in an area that allows you to experience different traditions respectfully, experience these traditions.
Remember that a decolonization journey does not simply happen in the mind. It is an embodied experience. So, as you are learning and experiencing, take the time to check in with your body and notice how it responds.
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