Is the celebration of the first day of spring a Pagan thing?

Absolutely!

http://www.religioustolerance.org/wic_sabb.htm

Brightest Blessings

My favorite is Beltane by far. The Earth is blooming and growing. Everything seems so fresh and new. The days are bright and warm and just feels "right". While I celebrate Samhain as my New Year, somehow I always feel Beltane is a rebirth for me personally. I am able to burdens and stress and be "free" so to speak. I also always take part in dancing the May Pole, which is something very special to me because it was my first ever ritual. I guess it always reminds me of shedding my old self, and being brought back into my new life as a pagan. It is very hard to explain in a way that others will understand. Anyway! Great question! Bright Blessings! Edit: "These two times of year are when I seem to be most energetic and optimistic, and simply "high on life." Why do you think this is? I would say Beltane and Yule, but thats just me.

The Baha'i New Year is the first day of spring. The New Year ends a 19-day Fast during which Baha'is refrain from eating and drinking from sunrise to sunset for the last month of the Baha'i calendar to prepare spiritually for the New Year.

It is New Year; the rounding of the cycle of the year. A year is the expression of a cycle (of the sun); but now is the beginning of a cycle of Reality, a New Cycle, a New Age, a New Century, a New Time and a New Year, and brings forth new and fresh fruits for humanity. Therefore it is very Blessed.

Baha'is around the world celebrate Naw Ruz differently according to the culture from which they come.

Yes, absolutely... many Pagan cultures celebrated the equinoxes and/or the solistices, as well as the planting, harvesting, rain/dry season cycles native to their region.

Modern NeoPagans generally accept Gerald Gardener's reconstruction/reinvention of these festivals in the Wiccan Wheel of the Year. Ostara is the first Spring Fertility festival.

Hey, we celebrate the first day of spring in my country too. Here, in Bangladesh, we dress up in orange/yellow Saris. Decorate with flowers, sing and dance! It's a very old tradition. Although some Muslims don't join the celebration because to them it's a "Hindu ritual". I think you are right. Almost every celebrations have a pagan root.

When I lived in a warm climate, we never noticed the first day of spring - it was irrelevant because you couldn't tell spring from summer or even from winter most of the time.

But now I live where it snows and it is much more relevent, despite the fact it is snowing/sleeting today and there is still snow on the ground.

Mostly though, people who celebrate, and are even aware of the solstice days and those that mark spring, winter, summer and fall are more in tune with themselves and the world around them. Many are in fact Pagan, but others, like myself, just pay attention to what's going on around them.

Enjoy your first day of spring!

It's Ostara eve, yes. :-D Most pagan traditions celebrated the solar cycles, including the equinoxes.

So happy Spring to you!

Yes, it does.

Many celebrations in many religions have origins that either derive directly from "Paganism" or have been "dated" to counteract Pagan celebrations.

Example: The birth of Christ was chosen for December because of the Saturnalia, Festival of Bacchus, birth of Mithra, etc.; all these took place on the "supposed" winter solstice (Dec. 25). Christ's birth was probably in the summer.

No it has nothing to do with paganism. Even if every one was atheist we would still celebrate the beginning of spring. Especially those outside of cities. Spring is the time when winter ends and things begin to grow again. This is crucial to farmers, who would celebrate the opportunity to grow their own food and make their livelihood.

I think it's just a natural human tendency to celebrate all the good things that Spring brings...any celebration was probably started in reaction to that feeling, and in gratitude to whatever forces one chooses to credit with bringing the warmer weather, new growth, etc.