Any excuse to celebrate
March 16, 2015 by Jennifer Taylor
In the past, March never felt like that remarkable of a month to me, but this year it seems that nearly every other day is a fake or real holiday or a date of some other significance. Every time I turn around, I’m made aware of something else to celebrate or observe. Though some notable March days have been around for centuries, I’m sure part of this increase is the recent prevalence of social media, where lesser known or obscure observances are introduced to a broader audience. In a way it’s a little weird to me to have so many featured days this month, but on the other hand, after a cold, crummy, and otherwise dismal stretch since Christmas and New Years, the tiny bit of spring in the air is just enough to fuel my interest in celebrating anything at all.
First up was March 4th, which my mom always liked to tell me was the only day of the year that states a command (march forth). There’s also a family birthday on that day, making it quite easy to remember.
Next up was the beginning of daylight saving time on March 8. I felt the effects of that event all week long. After fighting traffic into and out of DC each day, I don’t usually venture out too far in the evenings, especially when it’s dark and cold. However, with an added hour of daylight in the evening plus warmer-than-Arctic temperatures, it was much more motivating to get out of the house after dinner. And somehow coincidentally during the week of the time change, there were four different evenings for which I had to be out way past my bedtime (these days that’s theoretically after 9 pm), whether for meetings or other activities. A later bedtime coupled with an extra early morning with the time change, and I was so exhausted by the end of the week that I seriously went to bed at 6:30 pm Friday, only waking up for hour or so before 6:30 am the next day. Nothing screams “I’m no longer in my 20s” quite like complaining about bedtimes and going to bed while it’s still daylight out, but hey, I have felt positively golden since I finally caught up on sleep.
We are now in the middle of–to my count–five real or contrived observances. Friday was Friday the 13th, then Saturday was Pi Day, and Sunday was the Ides of March. I thought we’d have a break today, but someone pointed out that it’s “John 3:16 Day” (though I personally think it could also be I John 3:16Day, or II Timothy 3:16 Day, or…you get the idea). Whatever you want to call it, we’ve managed to bridge the gap into St. Patrick’s day tomorrow. I plan to celebrate that by going to the dentist. The only thing green about that is the color of my dental insurance card (wait, does that also scream “no longer in my 20s”?).
Unless someone contrives some other excuse for a holiday between Tuesday and Friday, our next notable event is the the vernal equinox, a.k.a the first day of spring, on March 20. Contrary to popular misunderstanding or misspeak, DST does not add an extra hour of daylight each day; it just shifts it around from morning to evening due to clock readout manipulation (nothing makes a time geek or astronomer want to punch someone in the face quite like this errant saying). The natural tilt of the Earth and its yearly path around the sun accomplish the shift in daylight hours throughout the year. According to www.timeanddate.com, there will be 12 hours, seven minutes, and 48 seconds of daylight hours in Washington, DC on March 20, compared to 9 hours, 26 minutes, and 18 seconds on December 21, the winter solstice. That’s quite a change, with more to come until June, and yet we still feel the need to tamper with the clocks… (ok, Jennifer, you promised you wouldn’t complain about DST on social media again this year…time to move on).
Most schools will have spring break in March; you may have already had yours, just started today, or will have it next week. Nothing screams “not in my teens or twenties” like not keeping up with spring break dates, but I guess this comes back around when you have kids in public schools again. You do notice the first influx of seasonal tourists in DC beginning around March, though. Ten points for NOT hitting spring break tourists near the Lincoln Memorial.
This year, Easter will be the first Sunday in April; however, it isn’t unusual for it to happen in March. My nephew’s birthday is toward the end of the month, I want to say his birthday has fallen on Easter before. Maybe the next year that Easter and Passover are in March, we can all get on Facebook and claim March as Unofficial-and-Official Holiday Month.
Oh, and my alumni calendar from the University of Colorado Physics Department points out that March 31 is Cesar Chavez Day. I had no idea that this was even a thing; I guess it’s for raising awareness? Apparently it worked because it made me look him up on Wikipedia…unsurprisingly, March 31st is his birthday. So feliz cumpleanos to you, Cesar.
What’s your favorite March holiday or non-holiday? Do you celebrate any other observances during the month?
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