Global Traditions - March 2022

This year, March starts with some very important celebrations.

But sadly, we enter March 2022 in conflict, watching the Russian invasion of the Ukraine closely; hoping the conflict can be resolved while sober to the reality that this is now war and further escalation is highly possible.

March 1st?is Mahashivratri!??Also known as “The Great Night of Shiva,” it is the most significant event in India’s spiritual calendar. The fourteenth day of every lunar month or the day before the new moon is known as Shivratri – so one occurs every month.??But of all the monthly Shivratri, Mahashivratri, is of the most spiritual significance. On this night, the northern hemisphere of the planet is positioned in such a way that there is a natural upsurge of energy in a human being. This is a day when nature is pushing one towards one’s spiritual peak. For this reason, this festival is celebrate all night - to allow the natural upsurge of energy to find their way! During this festival, one is expected to remain awake and preferably standing all night!

March 1st?is?St David’s Day?in Wales!??St David, the Patron Saint of the Welsh and the Cathedral in his name, in the village of the same name attracts pilgrims from around the world each year!??Why would a small village in Wales attract such global attention you ask???Well, Pope Calixtus II decreed that two pilgrimages to St David’s would equate to one pilgrimage to Rome!?

March 1st?is also Shrove Tuesday?- observed in many?Christian countries ?through participating in?confession and absolution ?alongside pancakes and sweets.??In my family, we celebrated?Pancake Tuesday, when my Polish father always made thin crepe-style Nalesniki with lemon and sugar!??

But the most globally famous (and infamous) celebrations on this Tuesday go by other names!??The term?Mardi Gras?is French for "Fat Tuesday," referring to the rich, fatty foods eaten before the ritual fasting of the Lenten season.??While celebrated in many French-speaking parts of the world, New Orleans, Louisiana in the United State has become synonymous with this holiday.??In most years, crowds celebrate from dusk to dawn eating, drinking, wearing gaudy costumes, fancy masks and throwing beads leading up to an extravagant parade of ornately decorated floats and characters!??

Carnival, or?Carnevale, has been?celebrated?for centuries throughout Italy. The name is said to derive from the words?carne vale?- 'farewell to meat' - which explain the function of the?celebration.?Fasching?is celebrated in Germany (and in particular, Koeln) while the?Carnival of Brazil?is the spectacular equivalent celebration in that incredible country!???

March 2nd?is Ash Wednesday.??Ash Wednesday is observed mainly by the Roman Catholic Church and some Protestant denominations.?It takes places immediately after the excesses Carnival revelry to prepare for the period of Lent – 40 days before Easter, when Roman Catholics are supposed to abstain from all bodily pleasures, including the consumption of meat. The name of the day comes from the custom that churchgoers are marked on the forehead with a cross of ash to symbolize death and regret for past sins.

By the way, the Orthodox equivalent of both Shrove Tuesday and Ash Wednesday are on the 8th?and 9th?of March respectively.??

While I hope everybody enjoyed the Lunar New Year last month, did you know that?March 3rd?marks the New Year in Bhutan (Dangpa Losar)?and in Tibet (Losar)?celebrating the?Year of the Water Tiger??

March 3rd?in Bali is a Day of Silence,?Nyepi Day.?Once a year, the island of Bali completely shuts down to pray for the purification of humanity, earth and the universe.?Every shop is closed and there isn't a car or motorbike to be seen on the usually bustling streets.?The lead-up to Nyepi includes the colorful Malesti parades and a parade of giant papier-maché demons on the Eve of this special day.

The?first Friday of March?traditionally kicks off the?Night of the Witches?(Noche de Brujas), celebrated in Catemaco, Mexico. Catemaco is considered Mexico’s witchcraft capital!

On?March 8th,?we celebrate?International Women’s Day?– a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural, and political achievement of women.??This important day also marks a call-to-action to accelerate women’s equality across the globe. The campaign theme for International Women's Day 2022?is?#BreakTheBias .?There will be many events, including online events, celebrating the progress that has been made while unifying on the challenges still facing women around the globe.??I hope you can find time to participate.??

March 17th?means it’s time to celebrate?Purim?on the Jewish calendar!??This holiday begins with dressing up in costume (many people choose to dress as characters from the Purim story) but must include listening to the story of Purim chanted from?Megillat Esther?(“The Scroll of Esther”) and to hear every word.??It is customary to make a lot of noise with a noisemaker called a?ra’ashan?every time Haman’s name is mentioned, to fulfill the obligation of blotting out Haman’s name.??A fun tradition on this holiday includes the performance of a?Purim spiel, a funny skit of the Purim story or just a funny skit in general.??

March 14th?or 3.14th?is one of my favorite days of the year and always celebrated with a delicious Pie! The holiday, of course, has nothing to do with Pie (though every day is a good day for Pie).??Pi Day celebrates our favorite irrational constant 3.1415926… –?the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter.???

Beware?March 15th?just doesn’t have the same ring to it, does it???But?the Ides of March?mark the first full moon of March and a symbolic pivot to the spring.??This day gained notoriety as the date of the assassination of Julius Caesar in 44BC.??

March 18-20th??is an amazing holiday or Holi Day!??This popular and ancient Hindu Festival is also known as the?"festival of colors", signifying the triumph of good over evil.??Holi celebrations start on the night before with a?Holika Dahan ?where people gather, perform religious rituals in front of the bonfire, and pray that their internal evil be destroyed the way?Holika , the sister of the demon king?Hiranyakashipu , was killed in the fire. The next morning includes a free-for-all festival of colors, where people smear each other with colored powder and drench each other with water.??Anyone and everyone are fair game; friend or stranger, rich or poor, man or woman, children and elders.?

March 18th?also marks a special night for our Muslim friends and colleagues with Laylat al-Bara’ah.?On the fourteenth of Sha’ban, the eighth month of the Muslim calendar and two weeks before Ramadan commences, Muslims seek forgiveness for their sins. Many Muslims believe that it is on this night that a person’s destiny is fixed by Allah for the coming year, and the night is often spent in prayer, asking for forgiveness and God’s guidance. Some Muslims fast during the daytime in preparation for the night. In certain parts of the world Muslims visit the graves of relatives, and the giving of charity is also traditional.?

The?Falles?is a traditional celebration held annually in commemoration of St Joseph?in the city of Valencia, Spain. The main celebration is from?March 15–19?but it’s part of an entire month of sleepless nights, firecrackers, pyrotechnics, bonfires and fireworks! And it’s Spain – so of course there’s delicious street food and celebrations throughout the month!??

March 17th?means?St Patrick’s Day?to every person of Irish descent and those that just like drinking and wearing green.?This holiday observes of the death of St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland. But has evolved into a celebration of Irish culture with parades, special foods, music, dancing, drinking and a whole lot of green.??

March 20th?celebrates the?Vernal Equinox?as one of?two moments in the year when the Sun is exactly above the Equator and day and night are of equal length; For many, this is just a casual recognition of a change in season.??In Japan, it’s an important celebration.?The holiday was originally a time to visit loved ones' grave sites and pay homage to the ancestors. Today?Shunbun no Hi?is a national holiday and the majority of Japanese will have the day off work to celebrate with their families or return to their homes where they were raised. The day is celebrated to bring in the spring season and to appreciate the nature blooming after a long winter.?

March 20th?also celebrates?Persian New Year or Nowruz?(or Novruz), literally meaning a 'New Day!’??This is one of humanity's oldest holidays, and although it may be often called Persian New Year, it predates the Persian Empire and can be traced back 5,000 years to the Sumerian and the Babylonian civilizations. Nowruz begins on either 20 March or 21 March, on the spring equinox, when the days and nights are equal lengths, with days then becoming longer signifying the arrival of warmer weather.

March 31st?is the final day of this month – and did you know it’s also?World Backup Day???I’m not sure how much longer this day will need to exist, but for those of you still not automatically backing up your important files to the cloud every day, pull out those floppy disks and a nice bottle of wine and celebrate Backup Day!