March starts on the same day of the week as November every year, and February in common years only. March ends on the same day of the week as June every year. In leap years, March starts on the same day as September and December of the previous year. In common years, March starts on the same day as June of the previous year. In leap years, March ends on the same day of the week as April and December of the previous year. In common years, March ends on the same day of the week as September of the previous year. In years immediately before leap years, March starts on the same day of the week as May of the following year. In years immediately before common years, March starts on the same day of the week as August of the previous year. In years immediately before leap years, March ends on the same day of the week as May of the following year. In years immediately before common years, March ends on the same day of the week as August and November of the following year.
The name of March comes from LatinMartius, the first month of the earliest Roman calendar. It was named for Mars, the Roman god of war who was also regarded as a guardian of agriculture and an ancestor of the Roman people through his sons Romulus and Remus. His month Martius was the beginning of the season for both farming and warfare,[1] 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.[2]Martius remained the first month of the Roman calendar year perhaps as late as 153 BC,[3] and several religious observances in the first half of the month were originally new year's celebrations.[4] Even in late antiquity, Roman mosaics picturing the months sometimes still placed March first.[5]
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. Many other cultures and religions still celebrate the beginning of the New Year in March.
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, meaning birch tree, and březen in Czech. Historical names for March include the SaxonLentmonat, 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".[6] The Turkish word Mart is given after the name of Mars the god.
The equinox, named the vernal or spring equinox in the northern hemisphere and the autumnal equinox in the southern hemisphere, occurs on dates varying from March 19 to March 21 (in UTC). 2015 date: March 20
Nowruz: New Year's Day in Iran and several other countries; also a holiday in Turkey and Central Asian countries as well, celebrated on the day of the equinox. 2015 date: March 20
World Down Syndrome Day, celebrated in the UK, it is a day to spread awareness of Trisomy 21, otherwise in the UK known as Down Syndrome or DS, March 21
Mother's Day in the Middle Eastern countries, March 21
Last day of the Japanese fiscal year and school year, March 31. Hanami, the Japanese custom of enjoying the beauty of flowers, starts around this time.
Purple Day, March 26: The Global Day of Epilepsy Awareness founded by Cassidy Megan, an inspirational epileptic girl from Nova Scotia, Canada who is dedicated to increasing epilepsy awareness worldwide. March 26 is officially recognized by law as Purple Day for epilepsy awareness in Canada.[8]
March is the first month of spring in the Northern Hemisphere (North America, Europe, Asia and part of Africa) and the first month of fall or autumn in the Southern Hemisphere (South America, part of Africa, and Oceania).
^Mary Beard, John North, and Simon Price, Religions of Rome (Cambridge University Press, 1998), pp. 47–48 and 53.
^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.
^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).
^Scullard, Festivals and Ceremonies of the Roman Republic, p. 85ff.
^Aïcha Ben Abed, Tunisian Mosaics: Treasures from Roman Africa (Getty Publications, 2006), p. 113.