While scientists welcomed the first day of meteorological spring on March 1, the vernal equinox officially begins this year on Saturday, March 20, at 5:37am ET.  Some retailers give out special treats to welcome in the season, but this year, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, one freebie won’t be available: ice and frozen custard at Rita’s Italian Ice and Custard.

Earlier today, Rita’s announced, “This was not an easy decision. But the reality is that our First Day of Spring event draws large crowds, so we’ve chosen to cancel Free Italian Ice Day on March 20, 2021 to keep everyone safe.”

However, the frozen treat store could have something else in the works. They said, “While we can’t celebrate together on March 20, we plan on celebrating healthcare workers who have been keeping us safe throughout the year.”

While they won’t continue their tradition of hosting a  free frozen dessert giveaway  this year, they are open. According to Rita’s, all of their locations have been open for the season since March 1.




Meteorologists and climatologists break the seasons down into groupings of three months based on the annual temperature cycle. In the world of meteorology and climatology, autumn includes September, October, and November; winter includes December, January, and February; spring includes March, April, and May; summer includes June, July and August.  Because the seasons are based on months and not traditional astronomical ones, the length of the meteorological seasons is  more consistent, averaging about 91 days per season. By following the civil calendar, meteorologists and especially climatologists can better calculate seasonal statistics from monthly ones.

While meteorological spring will be nearly 3 weeks old when astronomical spring arrives, it won’t be as sweet as it usually is with this retail promotion on pause.