春分 Chunfen, "Vernal Equinox"- 4th Seasonal Point- March 20
By the time Chunfen, the Vernal Equinox, arrives on March 20th, the duration of daytime and nighttime hours are virtually identical, marking the shift towards the Summer. Days will gradually grow longer, the sun setting later, and inevitably, our Yang will be increasing in strength as our Yin prepares for her beauty rest. In parts of East Asia, the height of Spring is also synonymous with the harvesting of young bamboo shoots- spirals of green, conical spears which seem to rise from the earth out of nowhere in deep, lush bamboo forests. It’s at this time of year we find ourselves feeling envious when scrolling through our Instagram with photos of people in East Asia foraging for fresh bamboo. The harvesting of young bamboo shoots is a ritual, a ceremony. Far more than just for pleasure, it is a symbiotic merging of oneself with the spirit of the season. To consume freshly harvested bamboo shoots is to partake of Spring itself.
Here in California, it is not nearly as easy to simply go on a hike and come back with baskets of bamboo shoots. But we also have a community of flora which Spring to glorious life with the passing of Winter. Clover-like Wood Sorrel mimics a lemon like taste; Miner’s Lettuce replaces our standard salad leaves; Mallow, a cousin to okra and hibiscus, heals-all and fights inflammation; and California Wild Radish leaves make for a delicious, vitamin-C-rich stir-fry. When we go wandering through the woods of the Sonoma Coast, these are the things that signal to us the rituals and magic of Spring.
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