March Celebrations

As the March winds blow in like a lion and go out like a lamb, here a few of the many holidays to know and celebrate.

International Women's Day (IWD), originally called International Working Women's Day, was celebrated on March 8. Designated by the United Nations, the celebrations range from general respect, appreciation, and love towards women's struggle for economic, political, and social achievements. Some people celebrate the day by wearing purple ribbons.

The women in our family deserve such recognition. From great-grandmothers who followed their husbands to America, to grandmother’s who took, at times, vigilant steps to guard their families, and our parent’s generation who embraced new beginnings and aligned themselves into the workforce to contribute support for the family. Where would we be now if it were not for the courageous achievements made by these women?

Daylight Saving Time began Sunday March 8, 2015 at 2:00 a.m. local time. Remembering to set all the clocks in the house one hour ahead can be a daunting task. Wall clocks, digital clocks, grandfather clocks, coocoo clocks, watches, car clocks, Whew!

Ides of March; March 15th is traditionally the first day of the Roman New Year. It also marks the first day of spring. On this day in history, Julius Caesar was warned by soothsayers to "beware of the Ides of March." Apparently, he did not heed the warning strongly enough as he was stabbed by Marcus Brutus on the Ides of March in 44 BC. 

Saint Patrick's Day; March 17th. St. Patrick is the patron saint and national apostle of Ireland, and is credited with bringing Christianity to Ireland. It is associated with everything Irish: anything green and gold, shamrocks and luck. Most importantly, people love celebrating this day.

Cities and towns have parades, “wearing of the green,” music and songs, Irish food and drinks. Some even go so far as to dye rivers or streams green! Like Chicago. Growing up in Windy City, which has a large Irish population, I remember seeing the Chicago River turned green and watching the parade march down State Street. What fun!

The feast of St Joseph; March 19. St Joseph is the patron saint of carpenters, and boy! Do I have a fine carpenter; my hubby. If it wasn’t for him, we would not have our Family Museum.   

 

Spring Begins; March 20/21: Longer days and warmer temperatures and also known as the Vernal Equinox. This marks the day that the Suns path is directly over the equator and contains equal amounts of day and night time.

Palm Sunday, March 29, commemorates Jesus' triumphant and last entry into Jerusalem where crowds greeted him by waving and covering his path with palm branches. I remember going to church and marveled at all the palm leaves that decorated the isles and alters. After mass, my family would gather at one of the relative's homes and have a big feast. Yum!