March

January · February · March · April · May · June · July · August · September · October · November ·
December
<< March >>
March is the third month of the year and named after Mars in both the Julian and
Gregorian calendars. It is the second of seven months to have a length of 31 days. Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa
In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the 1 2 3 4 5 6
first day of March. The March equinox on the 20 or 21 marks the astronomical 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
beginning of spring in the Northern Hemisphere and the beginning of autumn in
14 15 16 17 18 19 20
the Southern Hemisphere, where September is the seasonal equivalent of the
Northern Hemisphere's March. 21 22 23 24 25 26 27
28 29 30 31
March begins on the same day of the week as November and ends on the same 2021
day of the week as June every year. It begins on the same day of the week as
February in common years only. In years preceding common years, it begins and ends on the same day of the
week as August of the following year and ends on the same day of the week as November of the following
year and in years preceding leap years, it begins and ends on the same day of the week as May of the
following year. In common years, it begins on the same day of the week as June of the previous year and in
leap years, September and December of the previous year. In common years, March ends on the same day of
the week as September of the previous year and in leap years, April and December of the previous year.[1]

Contents
Origin
Other names
March symbols
March observances
Month-long observances
United States
Non-Gregorian observances, 2020
Movable observances: 2020
First Sunday: March 1
Second week: March 1–7
School day closest to March 2: March 2
First Monday: March 2
First Tuesday: March 3
First Thursday: March 5
First Friday: March 6
Second Sunday: March 8
Week of March 8: March 8–14
Monday closest to March 9, unless March 9 falls on a Saturday: March 9
Second Monday: March 9
Second Wednesday: March 11
Second Thursday: March 12
 Friday of the 13th of month: March 13
Friday of the second full week of March: March 13
Third week in March: March 15–21
Third Monday: March 16
March 19th, unless the 19th is a Sunday, then March 20: March 19
Third Wednesday: March 18
March equinox: March 20
Fourth Monday: March 23
Fourth Tuesday: March 24
Last Saturday: March 28
Last Sunday: March 29
Last Monday: March 30
Fixed observances
References
External links

Origin
The name of March comes from Martius, the first month of the
earliest Roman calendar. It was named after Mars, the Roman god of
war, and an ancestor of the Roman people through his sons Romulus
and Remus. His month Martius was the beginning of the season for
warfare,[2] and the festivals held in his honor during the month were
mirrored by others in October, when the season for these activities
came to a close.[3] Martius remained the first month of the Roman
calendar year perhaps as late as 153 BC,[4] and several religious
observances in the first half of the month were originally new year's
celebrations.[5] Even in late antiquity, Roman mosaics picturing the
months sometimes still placed March first.[6]

March 1 began the numbered year in Russia until the end of the 15th
century. Great Britain and its colonies continued to use March 25 until
1752, when they finally adopted the Gregorian calendar (the fiscal
year in the UK continues to begin on 6 April, initially identical to 25
March in the former Julian calendar). Many other cultures and
religions still celebrate the beginning of the New Year in March.

March is the first month of spring in the Northern Hemisphere (North March, from the Très Riches Heures
America, Europe, Asia and part of Africa) and the first month of fall du Duc de Berry, a book of prayers
or autumn in the Southern Hemisphere (South America, part of to be said at canonical hours
Africa, and Oceania).

Ancient Roman observances celebrated in March include Agonium Martiale, celebrated on March 1, March
14, and March 17, Matronalia, celebrated on March 1, Junonalia, celebrated on March 7, Equirria, celebrated
on March 14, Mamuralia, celebrated on either March 14 or March 15, Hilaria on March 15 and then through
March 22–28, Argei, celebrated on March 16–17, Liberalia and Bacchanalia, celebrated March 17,
Quinquatria, celebrated March 19–23, and Tubilustrium, celebrated March 23. These dates do not correspond
to the modern Gregorian calendar.
Other names
In Finnish, the month is called maaliskuu, which is believed to originate from maallinen kuu, during March,
earth finally becomes visible under the snow (other etymological theories have however been put forward). In
Ukrainian, the month is called березень/berezenʹ, meaning birch tree, and březen in Czech. Historical names
for March include the Saxon Lentmonat, named after the March equinox and gradual lengthening of days, and
the eventual namesake of Lent. Saxons also called March Rhed-monat or Hreth-monath (deriving from their
goddess Rhedam/Hreth), and Angles called it Hyld-monath.

In Slovene, the traditional name is sušec, meaning the month when the earth becomes dry enough so that it is
possible to cultivate it. The name was first written in 1466 in the Škofja Loka manuscript. Other names were
used too, for example brezen and breznik, "the month of birches".[7] The Turkish word Mart is given after the
name of Mars the god.

March symbols
March's birthstones are aquamarine and bloodstone. These stones
symbolize courage.
Its birth flower is the daffodil.[8]
The zodiac signs for the month of March were Pisces (until March 19,
2020) and Aries (March 20, 2020 onwards).[9][10]

March observances
This list does not necessarily imply either official status nor general observance. The Daffodil, the floral
emblem of March

Month-long observances
In Catholic tradition, March is the Month of Saint Joseph.
Endometriosis Awareness Month (International
observance)
National Nutrition Month (Canada)
Season for Nonviolence: January 30 – April 4
(International observance)
Women's History Month (Australia, United Kingdom,
United States) Aquamarine gemstones

United States

Cerebral Palsy Awareness Month[11]

Irish-American Heritage Month
Multiple Sclerosis Awareness Month
Music in our Schools Month
National Athletic Training Month
National Bleeding Disorders Awareness Month
National Celery Month Polished bloodstones
National Frozen Food Month
 National Kidney Month
National Nutrition Month
National Professional Social Work Month
National Reading Awareness Month
Youth Art Month
National Ladder Safety Month

Non-Gregorian observances, 2020

(All Baha'i, Islamic, and Jewish observances begin at the sundown prior to the date listed, and end at
sundown of the date in question unless otherwise noted.)

List of observances set by the Bahá'í calendar

List of observances set by the Chinese calendar
List of observances set by the Hebrew calendar
List of observances set by the Islamic calendar
List of observances set by the Solar Hijri calendar

Movable observances: 2020

List of movable Eastern Christian observances
List of movable Western Christian observances
National Corndog Day (United States): March 21
Equal Pay Day (United States): March 31

First Sunday: March 1

Children's Day (New Zealand)

Second week: March 1–7

Global Money Week

School day closest to March 2: March 2

Read Across America Day

First Monday: March 2

Casimir Pulaski Day (United States)

First Tuesday: March 3

Grandmother's Day (France)

First Thursday: March 5

 World Book Day (UK and Ireland)
World Maths Day

First Friday: March 6

Employee Appreciation Day (United States, Canada)

Second Sunday: March 8

Daylight saving time begins (United States and Canada)

Week of March 8: March 8–14

Women of Aviation Worldwide Week

Monday closest to March 9, unless March 9 falls on a Saturday: March 9

Baron Bliss Day (Belize)

Second Monday: March 9

Canberra Day (Australia)
Commonwealth Day (Commonwealth of Nations)

Second Wednesday: March 11

Decoration Day (Liberia)
No Smoking Day (United Kingdom)

Second Thursday: March 12

World Kidney Day

Friday of the 13th of month: March 13

Friday the 13th

Friday of the second full week of March: March 13

World Sleep Day

Third week in March: March 15–21

National Poison Prevention Week (United States)

Third Monday: March 16

Birthday of Benito Juarez (Mexico)
March 19th, unless the 19th is a Sunday, then March 20: March 19
Feast of Joseph of Nazareth (Western Christianity)
Father's Day (Spain, Portugal, Belgium, Italy, Honduras, and Bolivia)
Las Fallas, celebrated on the week leading to March 19. (Valencia)
"Return of the Swallow", annual observance of the swallows' return to Mission San Juan
Capistrano in California.

Third Wednesday: March 18

National Festival of Trees (Netherlands)

March equinox: March 20

Nowruz, The Persian new year. (Observed Internationally)
Chunfen (East Asia)
Dísablót (some Asatru groups)
Earth Equinox Day
Equinox of the Gods/New Year (Thelema)
Higan (Japan)
International Astrology Day
Mabon (Southern Hemisphere) (Neo-paganism)
Ostara (Northern Hemisphere) (Neo-paganism)
Shunbun no Hi (Japan)
Sigrblót (The Troth)
Summer Finding (Asatru Free Assembly)
Sun-Earth Day (United States)
Vernal Equinox Day/Kōreisai (Japan)
World Storytelling Day

Fourth Monday: March 23

Labour Day (Christmas Island, Australia)

Fourth Tuesday: March 24

American Diabetes Alert Day (United States)

Last Saturday: March 28

Earth Hour (International observance)[12]

Last Sunday: March 29

European Summer Time begins
Last Monday: March 30
Seward's Day (Alaska, United States)

Fixed observances
March 1 (M-01)
Baba Marta (Bulgaria),
Beer Day (Iceland)
Commemoration of Mustafa Barzani's Death (Iraqi Kurdistan)
Heroes' Day (Paraguay)
Independence Day (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
Mărțișor (Romania and Moldavia)
National Peanut Butter Day (United States)
National Pig Day (United States)
Remembrance Day (Marshall Islands)
Saint David's Day (Wales)
Samiljeol (South Korea)
Self-injury Awareness Day (International observance)
World Civil Defence Day
March 2 (M-02)
National Banana Creme Pie Day (United States)
National Reading Day (United States)
Omizu-okuri ("Water Carrying") Festival (Obama, Japan)
Peasant's Day (Burma)
Texas Independence Day (Texas, United States)
Victory at Adwa Day (Ethiopia)
March 3 (M-03)
Hinamatsuri (Japan)
Liberation Day (Bulgaria)
Martyr's Day (Malawi)
Mother's Day (Georgia)
National Canadian Bacon Day (United States)
Sportsmen's Day (Egypt)
What if Cats & Dogs Had Opposable Thumbs Day
World Wildlife Day
March 4 (M-04)
National Grammar Day (United States)
St Casimir's Day (Poland and Lithuania)
March 5 (M-05)
Custom Chief's Day (Vanuatu)
Day of Physical Culture and Sport (Azerbaijan)
Learn from Lei Feng Day (China)
National Absinthe Day (United States)
 National Cheez Doodle Day (United States)
St Piran's Day (Cornwall)
March 6 (M-06)
European Day of the Righteous ( Europe)
Foundation Day (Norfolk Island)
Independence Day (Ghana)
March 7 (M-07)
Liberation of Sulaymaniyah (Iraqi Kurdistan)
National Crown Roast of Pork Day (United States)
Teacher's Day (Albania)
March 8 (M-08)
International Women's Day
International Women's Collaboration Brew Day
Mother's Day (primarily Eastern Europe, Russia, and the former Soviet bloc)
National Peanut Cluster Day (United States)
National Potato Salad Day (United States)
March 9 (M-09)
National Crabmeat Day (United States)
National Meatball Day (United States)
Panic Day
Teachers' Day (Lebanon)
March 10 (M-10)
Harriet Tubman Day (United States of America)
Holocaust Remembrance Day (Bulgaria)
Hote Matsuri (Shiogama, Japan)
National Blueberry Popover Day Day (United States)
National Mario Day (United States)
National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (United States)
Tibetan Uprising Day (Tibetan independence movement)
March 11 (M-11)
Day of Restoration of Independence of Lithuania
Johnny Appleseed Day (United States)
Moshoeshoe Day (Lesotho)
Oatmeal Nut Waffles Day (United States)
March 12 (M-12)
Arbor Day (China)
Arbor Day (Taiwan)
Aztec New Year
Girl Scout Birthday (United States)
National Baked Scallops Day (United States)
National Day (Mauritius)
 Tree Day (North Macedonia)
World Day Against Cyber Censorship
Youth Day (Zambia)
March 13 (M-13)
Anniversary of the election of Pope Francis (Vatican City)
Kasuga Matsuri (Kasuga Grand Shrine, Nara, Japan)
L. Ron Hubbard's birthday (Scientology)
Liberation of Duhok City (Iraqi Kurdistan)
National Coconut Torte Day (United States)
March 14 (M-14)
Multiple Sclerosis Awareness Week March 14 to March 20 (United States)
Pi Day
White Day (Asia)
March 15 (M-15)
Hōnen Matsuri (Japan)
International Day Against Police Brutality
J. J. Roberts' Birthday (Liberia)
National Brutus Day (United States)
National Day (Hungary)
True Confessions Day
World Consumer Rights Day
World Contact Day
World Day of Muslim Culture, Peace, Dialogue and Film
World Speech Day
Youth Day (Palau)
March 16 (M-16)
Day of the Book Smugglers (Lithuania)
Remembrance day of the Latvian legionnaires (Latvia)
Halabja Day (Iraqi Kurdistan)
Lips Appreciation Day
Saint Urho's Day (Finnish Americans and Finnish Canadians)
March 17 (M-17)
Children's Day (Bangladesh)
Evacuation Day (Massachusetts) (Suffolk County, Massachusetts)
Saint Patrick's Day (Ireland, Irish diaspora)
March 18 (M-18)
Anniversary of the Oil Expropriation (Mexico)
Flag Day (Aruba)
Forgive Mom and Dad Day
Gallipoli Memorial Day (Turkey)
Men's and Soldiers' Day (Mongolia)
Teacher's Day (Syria)
March 19 (M-19)
Kashubian Unity Day (Poland)
Minna Canth's Birthday (Finland)
March 20 (M-20)
Feast of the Supreme Ritual (Thelema)
Great American Meatout (United States)
International Day of Happiness (United Nations)
Independence Day (Tunisia)
International Francophonie Day (Organisation internationale de la Francophonie), and its
related observance:
UN French Language Day (United Nations)
Liberation of Kirkuk City (Iraqi Kurdistan)
National Native HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (United States)
World Sparrow Day
March 21 (M-21)
Arbor Day (Portugal)
Birth of Benito Juárez, a Fiestas Patrias (Mexico)
Harmony Day (Australia)
Human Rights Day (South Africa)
Independence Day (Namibia)
International Colour Day (International observance)
International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (International observance)
International Day of Forests (International observance)
Mother's Day (most of the Arab world)
National Tree Planting Day (Lesotho)
Truant's Day (Poland, Faroe Islands)
World Down Syndrome Day (International observance)
World Poetry Day (International observance)
World Puppetry Day (International observance)
Youth Day (Tunisia)
March 22 (M-22)
As Young As You Feel Day
Emancipation Day (Puerto Rico)
World Water Day
March 23 (M-23)
Day of the Sea (Bolivia)
Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources Day (Azerbaijan)
National Chips and Dip Day (United States)
Pakistan Day (Pakistan)
Promised Messiah Day (Ahmadiyya)
World Meteorological Day
March 24 (M-24)
 Commonwealth Covenant Day (Northern Mariana Islands, United States)
Day of Remembrance for Truth and Justice (Argentina)
Day of National Revolution (Kyrgyzstan)
International Day for the Right to the Truth Concerning Gross Human Rights Violations and
for the Dignity of Victims (United Nations)
National Tree Planting Day (Uganda)
Student Day (Scientology)
World Tuberculosis Day
March 25 (M-25)
Anniversary of the Arengo and the Feast of the Militants (San Marino)
Cultural Workers Day (Russia)
Empress Menen's Birthday (Rastafari)
EU Talent Day (European Union)
Feast of the Annunciation (Christianity), and its related observances:
Lady Day (United Kingdom) (see Quarter Days)
International Day of the Unborn Child (international)
Mother's Day (Slovenia)
Waffle Day (Sweden)
Freedom Day (Belarus)
International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave
Trade
International Day of Solidarity with Detained and Missing Staff Members (United Nations
General Assembly)
Maryland Day (Maryland, United States)
Revolution Day (Greece)
Struggle for Human Rights Day (Slovakia)
Tolkien Reading Day (Tolkien fandom)
March 26 (M-26)
Independence Day (Bangladesh)
Make Up Your Own Holiday Day
Martyr's Day or Day of Democracy (Mali)
Prince Kūhiō Day (Hawaii, United States)
Purple Day (Canada and United States)
March 27 (M-27)
Armed Forces Day (Myanmar)
International whisk(e)y day
Quirky Country Music Song Titles Day
World Theatre Day (International)
March 28 (M-28)
Commemoration of Sen no Rikyū (Schools of Japanese tea ceremony)
Serfs Emancipation Day (Tibet)
Teachers' Day (Czech Republic and Slovakia)
March 29 (M-29)
 Boganda Day (Central African Republic)
Commemoration of the 1947 Rebellion (Madagascar)
Day of the Young Combatant (Chile)
Youth Day (Taiwan)
March 30 (M-30)
Land Day (Palestine)
National Doctors' Day (United States)
Spiritual Baptist/Shouter Liberation Day (Trinidad and Tobago)
World Idli Day
March 31 (M-31)
César Chávez Day (United States)
Culture Day (Public holidays in the Federated States of Micronesia)
Day of Genocide of Azerbaijanis (Azerbaijan)
Freedom Day (Malta)
International Transgender Day of Visibility
King Nangklao Memorial Day (Thailand)
National Backup Day (United States)
National Clams on the Half Shell Day (United States)
Thomas Mundy Peterson Day (New Jersey, United States)
Transfer Day (US Virgin Islands)

References
1. "The Month of March" (https://www.timeanddate.com/calendar/months/march.html). Retrieved
2020-03-08.
2. Mary Beard, John North, and Simon Price, Religions of Rome (Cambridge University Press,
1998), pp. 47–48 and 53.
3. Michael Lipka, Roman Gods: A Conceptual Approach (Brill, 2009), p. 37. The views of Georg
Wissowa on the festivals of Mars framing the military campaigning season are summarized by
C. Bennett Pascal, "October Horse," Harvard Studies in Classical Philology 85 (1981), p. 264,
with bibliography.
4. H.H. Scullard, Festivals and Ceremonies of the Roman Republic (Cornell University Press,
1981), p. 84; Gary Forsythe, Time in Roman Religion: One Thousand Years of Religious
History (Routledge, 2012), p. 14 (on the uncertainty of when the change occurred).
5. Scullard, Festivals and Ceremonies of the Roman Republic, p. 85ff.
6. Aïcha Ben Abed, Tunisian Mosaics: Treasures from Roman Africa (Getty Publications, 2006), p.
113.
7. "Koledar prireditev v letu 2007 in druge informacije občine Dobrova–Polhov Gradec" (https://w
eb.archive.org/web/20131102060918/http://www.dobrova-polhovgradec.si/doc/priponke/koleda
r%20prir%2007%20zadnji.pdf) [The Calendar of Events and Other Information of the
Municipality of Dobrova–Polhov Gradec] (PDF) (in Slovenian). Municipality of Dobrova-Polhov
Gradec. 2006. Archived from the original (http://www.dobrova-polhovgradec.si/doc/priponke/kol
edar%20prir%2007%20zadnji.pdf) (PDF) on 2013-11-02.
8. "March Birth Flower : Flower Meaning" (http://www.birthflowersguide.com/march-birth-flower.ht
ml).
9. The Earth passed the junction of the signs at 03:49 UT/GMT March 20, 2020, and will pass it
again at 09:37 UT/GMT March 20, 2021.
10. "Astrology Calendar" (https://www.yourzodiacsign.com/calendar/), yourzodiacsign. Signs in
UT/GMT for 1950–2030.
11. "National Cerebral Palsy Awareness Month – UCP" (http://ucp.org/tag/national-cerebral-palsy-
awareness-month/). ucp.org.
12. "Homepage" (https://www.earthhour.org/). 2 February 2018.

External links
Answers article on the seasons (http://aa.quae.nl/nl/antwoorden/seizoenen.html)

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=March&oldid=994169151"

This page was last edited on 14 December 2020, at 12:22 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this
site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia
Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.