Greece to Catalonia and Poland

Astronomic spring in Poland begins on 21th March. The first day of spring is celebrated especially by pupils. The old tradition for that day is the drowning of the marzanna ("frost maiden"). For our ancestors, the custom was associated with the everlasting rhythm of life. It expressed their joy at the coming of spring, which meant a rebirth of nature, promising crops and abundance, the marzanna was a representation of winter, a straw female effigy, dressed in white and adorned with coral beads and ribbons. Villagers carried the marzanna from house to house, then stripped her and scattered the clothes over the fields. Eventually she was drowned in a river, pond, lake or simply in a big puddle. Sometimes before throwing her into the water the effigy was set on fire. As the marzanna was carried out of the village one way, on the opposite side the villagers carried in the maik - green branches adorned with ribbons, coral beads and flowers. Over centuries this ceremony evolved into a form of amusement. Today drowning the marzanna is mainly done by children.
Nowadays pupils don't have regular classes on that day, but they do something funny. They play matches, they go to the cinema or anything alse they and the teachers prepare.