March may be named after the Roman god of war but it’s one of the happier months for me. We’re finally rid of February and psychologically I just feel better when the first of March rolls around. So here we are into the third month of the year, or if we did it (maybe right) like the Romans once did, the first. Their year was only ten months long and began in March. As I’ve mentioned before, to the Romans, January and February were just two nameless months they called “winter.”
Besides making us “think” that spring is almost here, some interesting activities fall in March.
I mentioned that March was named for the Roman god of war — it could be just a coincidence, but with the exception of the recent war in Afghanistan, almost all major U.S.or NATO led military operations since the invasion of Vietnam have begun in the month of March.
And we have the Ides of March to look forward to, or beware of…. as you probably remember, on the Roman calendar, the midpoint of every month was known as the Ides. That whole story about the Ides of March made popular by Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar probably got a lot more press than it deserved. If someone tells you “beware the Ides of March,” they’re just being a jerk, or trying to impress you that they’ve read Shakespeare.
Another thing you always hear about March is that if it comes in like a lion, it’ll go out like a lamb. I suppose this just begs for some extensive research to see if there’s any truth to it or not, but maybe I’ll leave that exercise for next year.
One of my favorite days in March is Pi Day, on 3/14 — a day filled with math jokes, pi-reciting competitions and, of course, eating real pie. But the big day in March is St. Patrick’s Day, a day of just one giant party that doesn’t require any gifts.
And March is also the month of the Vernal Equinox, when the sun shines on the equator giving us a near 50-50 split of light and darkness.
While we’re talking about the significance of March, I think I’ve got to mention that, sadly, it contains a special holiday that I’m afraid will have to come to an end soon. March 10th is International Find a Phone Booth Day. Phone Booths, especially in the US are becoming harder and harder to find and I fear they will go the way of the fax machine, blueprints and slide rule. I suppose all good things have to end, but it’s still March, a good month that maybe does deserve to be the first month of the year….
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