Spring Equinox is here and with it many ways to celebrate the start of the new season. So as the crocuses begin to push their way out of the snow, here are some signs that spring is in the air.
Corcusses bloom in the sun in Duesseldorf, Germany, March 4, 2013.
Farmers of the Tibetan ethnic group attend a ceremony to celebrate the starting of spring plowing work at Deqing Village of Dazi County, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, March 16, 2013.
Farmers of the Tibetan ethnic group attend a ceremony to celebrate the starting of spring plowing at Weiba Village of Lhasa, capital of southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, on March 16, 2013.
This photo, taken on March 20, shows the snow-covered cherry blossoms at the Yuyuantan Park in Beijing, capital of China.
Asparagus harvest starts in Lower Saxony. Here, harvesters cut the first asparagus in Steimbke, Germany, March 15, 2013.
Snowflakes blossom in a park in Hamburg, Germany, March 3, 2013.
A white stork (Ciconia ciconia) takes off from a field with broad strokes of its wings in Bad Freienwalde, Germany, March 4, 2013. For many years, this stork has been one of the first of its species to arrive back very early from its wintering area. In Brandenburg, there are approximately 1,200 pairs of storks.
Outfielder for the New York Yankees Brennan Boesch is at bat during a spring training game against the Pittsburgh Pirates on St. Patrick's Day at McKechnie Field in Bradenton, Fla.
New York Yankees center fielder Melky Mesa beats a throw to the Pittsburgh Pirates' first baseman Garrett Jones during a spring training game on St. Patrick's Day.Florida.
Barnacle Geese fly over a field near St. Peter Ording, Germany, on March 17. In spring and autumn every year, thousands of these Artic birds stop over in the Wadden Sea during migration.
This photo, taken on March 18, shows bleeding heart flowers in Luoyang, in central China's Henan Province. Various flowers are in full blossom as spring comes.
A bee lands on a begonia flower in Suzhou, east China's Jiangsu Province.
Iranian buy goldfish for Nowruz, the Iranian New Year, in Babol City, northern Iran, on March 19. Nowruz, which usually occurs on March 20 or 21, marks the first day of spring and the beginning of the new year on the Iranian calendar.
An Iranian man holds a fire cracker during the celebration of Nowruz, the Iranian New Year, in Babol City, northern Iran, on March 19.
Thick snow covers flower buds in Beijing, capital of China, March 20, 2013. The heavy snowfall happened to hit the city on the Chinese traditional calendar date of Chunfen, which heralds the beginning of the spring season. Chunfen, which literally means Spring Equinox or Vernal Equinox, falls on the day when the sun is exactly at the celestial latitude of zero degrees.
Pussy willow branches in Bavaria grow next to the shimmering Hopfensee Lake in the sunshine near Hopfen am See, Germany.
A black swan breeds in the snow-covered bird park in Marlow, Germany, on March 20, which marks the calendrical beginning of spring this year.
A little girl dressed in folk costume holds a plate with blinis (pancakes) during Maslenitsa, the Russian Sun Festival (also known as Pancake Week), which celebrates the end of winter and marks the arrival of spring, in Ryazan.
Children play during Maslenitsa in Starocherkasskaya village.
Children show their eggs covered with Chinese characters and paintings at a kindergarten in Anyang, central Chinas Henan province, on March 20. Making an egg stand up is a traditional Chinese way to welcome spring around the time of the spring equinox.
