As someone who considered themself quite festive, I would never have thought that March would have so many fun and fantastic holidays celebrating so many different occasions. I mean, you truly can’t find another month that has a “I Want You To Be Happy Day” or a “Be Nasty Day.” Below are some of the normal, random, and weird holidays celebrated in the marvelously merry month of March.
St. Patrick’s Day
“St. Patrick’s Day” is a March classic, with festivities to be had all day long. This holiday was first celebrated in Ireland in honor of… St. Patrick! St Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland and its national apostle; St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated on the day he died (March 17th). Here’s an interesting fun fact: Did you know that St. Patrick was actually British? He was born to Roman parents but was kidnapped by pirates and sold as a slave. He became a priest after escaping to a Christian Missionary. Because of this, St. Patrick’s Day was originally centered around a religious feast, but it has evolved into mainly being a celebration of all of Ireland’s amazing culture. Celebrations on St. Patrick’s Day usually involve parades with singing, dancing, and bagpipes, as well as parties featuring classic Irish food like corned beef and cabbage. And, of course, lots of green, which comes from the United Irish, an anti-British-rule rebel group in Ireland who wore green which represented Irish nationalism (pride) and their fight against the British.
I Want You To Be Happy Day
Every year on March 3rd “I Want You to be Happy Day” comes around and this holiday is all about making others happy and putting a smile on someone else’s face, which tends to put one on yours as well. When people get busy and stressed sometimes it’s hard to focus on the happy things in life. I Want You To Be Happy Day serves as a reminder to everyone that every day can be filled with happiness. It also reminds us to be kind to others; a simple hello or smile can go a long way in making someone’s day. After all, everyone deserves happiness. If you need ideas on what to do consider donating to local charities, complimenting someone, holding the door open for people, or writing a thank you letter to someone important in your life.
Holi
“Holi” is the Hindu “Festival of Colors” which celebrates the triumph of good over evil and new beginnings. It’s celebrated on the last full moon in the lunar cycle of Phalguna, which this year is March 4th. The night before Holi, however, is also celebrated with a bonfire (Holika Dahan) to say goodbye to winter and welcome in spring. The main fun of the actual day of Holi (Rangwali Holi) is when bright powders and colors are thrown all around—getting on everything and everyone. These colored powders each have a different meaning, red symbolizing love, green representing new beginnings, pink signifying love, purple representing wisdom and strength, orange being about light; there are many more, but all tie into themes of unity which is what Holi is all about. Holi happens mainly throughout India and Nepal, but many large cities in the U.S. such as NYC, Dallas, Los Angeles and Chicago all host celebrations of their own. The origin of Holi comes from two legends: The Legend of Prahlada and Holika and the story of Krishna and Radha.
Pi Day
This holiday is for all the math teachers out there; celebrated on the 14th of March, it spells out the first three digits of pi: “3.14.” “Pi day” was established in 1988 by physicist Larry Shaw but the existence of pi was already well known. Archimedes (an ancient Greek mathematician) is commonly credited as the first to accurately calculate the estimated value of pi. Pi day, today, is commonly associated with pies. So, if you are looking for a fun way to celebrate, consider the option of baking a pie and then finding the circumference of it by using pi or holding a pie eating contest. Another cool thing about Pi day is that it’s also Albert Einstein’s birthday so in the year 2193 he will turn 314 on 3.14!
National COVID-19 Day
“National COVID-19 Day” falls on the 11th of each year—as this was the day that the World Health Organization declared Covid-19 to be a global pandemic. It’s a national holiday honoring the people that were lost in the pandemic as well as celebrating all the wonderful and amazing volunteers, healthcare workers, etc. who helped us through that awful event. If you would like to observe this holiday there is a virtual event with speakers and even a concert that you could observe. You can also wear red and white which are the official colors representing unity. People across the globe participate in this day to show how truly connected we all are no matter the conflicts that affect us and the after effects they have.
Be Nasty Day!
“Be Nasty Day” is observed on March 8th and is an interesting opposite of I Want You To Be Happy Day. Be Nasty Day is when people drop the facade of niceness and become blunt, frank, upfront, curt, and just let their true emotions show for the day. Fun fact: the “Nasty Women” movement helped redefine what the word nasty means. For context, in 2016 during a presidential debate, Donald Trump referred to Hillary Clinton as “that nasty woman.” But instead of taking this as an insult, supporters (mainly women) of Hillary Clinton took it as a motivator. They reclaimed the word, making it instead a symbol of persistence, strength, and feminism, forever redefining what it means to be nasty. This is what Be Nasty Day focuses on—standing up for yourself even if it requires you to be a bit “nasty.”
Extraterrestrial Abductions Day
If you ever wanted to know where the missing cows go this might be the holiday for you. Celebrated on March 20th, it recognizes the people who have had run-ins with extraterrestrial entities. Nobody knows how this holiday came to be but it grew in popularity after a festival was held in Toronto for it, in 2008. In fact, alien abduction and UFO spotting stories date back hundreds of years. The first one was in 1639! John Winthrop recorded in his diary that he, along with others, witnessed a great light (it might have even been the first UFO spotting ever). Afterwards, their rowboat was mysteriously moved a mile up the river, against the tide. Fun ways to enjoy this holiday include watching alien related movies or reading books focused on the supernatural.
Make Up Your Own Holiday Day
For the people that need a little something special, “Make Up Your Own Holiday Day” is the perfect day. Celebrated on March 26th, this very imaginative holiday was created by Thomas and Roy Roth who are also credited with creating over 80 other holidays. Who said you couldn’t follow your dreams? Their idea was for people to be able to make whatever they wanted a holiday—rather it be about finding pennies on the street or having a turtle as your favorite animal. This holiday is a fun way to take a break from all the clutter of life and take a moment to create something specially catered for you, by you.
I hope we all can learn from these holidays that March is filled with so much fun to be had—from the “Festival of Colors” to green parades to being abducted by aliens. I implore whoever is reading this to go out of their way to celebrate at least one of the many festivities March has to offer. Remember that there are many more than just the ones listed here, so do your own research, and you might just find the holiday perfect for you—but if not, you can always make up your own!
