North Stonington — As the sun peeked through a fog-clouded overlook at 6:50 a.m. Sunday, a group of men dressed in traditional white and green English garments began to dance atop the Lantern Hill trail, waving white handkerchiefs and stomping the ground with sticks, bells tied to their legs.

The Westerly Morris Men have returned, maskless and excited, to celebrate the vernal equinox, or when the sun's direct rays strike Earth's equator before crossing into the Northern Hemisphere, marking the first day of spring.

The English folk dance group has done this tradition for 36 years, missing only a few years due to inclement weather. Kurt Hansen, one of the Morris men, said the tradition stems from an old English pagan practice to "wake up the earth and scare the bad guys away."

Hansen said the Morris dances they perform and the clothes they wear are native to the Cotswolds, a rural area of south central England covering parts of six counties. He said different motions in their dancing, such as when two dancers switch sides and go back-to-back, are attributed to the villages' different takes on the dance.

Norman Dudziak of Barrington, R.I., has organized the vernal equinox event every year since the 1980s, when they started doing it at Lantern Hill. While some of the Morris men continued to do the celebration during the pandemic, Dudziak said he missed the past two years, and it was "absolutely wonderful" to be back.

Peter Leibert of Preston founded the group in 1975. He said it was important to keep the vernal equinox tradition alive, because it's "good for the soul."

The group's dance for hope and spring carried more weight Sunday as Hansen called for a moment of silence for Ukraine and all those in the world subjected to violence before they began.

Axel Westerburg of Old Lyme said he was crossing off seeing the Morris men from his bucket list. He said he liked the group's Morris dancing for its history and for the gathering of people, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic and with the current state of the world.

"I think of everything that is going on and this renews my faith in being alive," Westerburg said.

Several dozen people drove on dark, foggy roads and made the steep hike before the break of dawn Sunday to watch the Morris men dance at sunrise. Liza Wuilensky of Waterford said she has been coming to see them with her mom almost every year since 2013.

"It's one of those weird things you only see in this area, and you got to go," Wuilensky said.

Marybeth Tavares, a teacher at North Stonington's Wheeler High School, is the adviser for the school's adventure club and brought with her a group of students and club members.

"I'm surprised at how many kids showed up this early," Tavares said. "It's a great adventure, hike and a wonderful way to welcome spring."

The Westerly Morris Men also danced at the trailhead at the conclusion of the hike for those unable to make the incline, including founder of the group, Leibert.

Before everyone dispersed, Leibert sang a song he sings every year, to the tune of a traditional folk song with lyrics he wrote himself:

"Well known for fame, a team they came to dance for one dance more, yes, 'tis Westerly that comes this day to make your spirits soar...

and when the sun has fully come our dance and song must end, our souls and spirits are complete, our lives our on the mend.

so down the hill we all must go revived with what we feel; be back next year to greet the sun way up on Lantern Hill."

j.vazquez@theday.com