Your month ahead – dates for your diary (March)

3, Purim, Judaism 

A joyous festival, Purim is known for its fancy dress costumes worn by Jewish children. Its story tells of a time when Jews living in Persia were saved from extermination by a Jewish woman named Esther. The villain, a man called Haman, had plotted to overthrow the king and become leader himself, but Esther revealed his plans to the king, saving her people. In synagogues during Purim, the Book of Esther is read. When Haman’s name is mentioned, the congregation tries to drown it out.

29, Palm Sunday, Christianity

Held on the Sunday before Easter, this festival remembers the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, before his arrest and crucifixion. As was customary in the day, people welcomed him into the city by scattering palm branches on the ground in front of him. Today, Christians honour this occasion with a special mass at church, where children hold palm fronds in a procession.

March’s dates at a glance

Religious/cultural

1 –       St David’s Day, Christian
1 –       Feast of Orthodoxy, Orthodox Christian
2 –       Nineteen-Day Fast begins, Baha’i
2 –       Holika Dahan Hindu
3 –       Phalguna Chaumasi Chaudas, Jain
3 –       Chötrul Düchen, Buddhist
3 –       Hina Matsuri, Shinto
3 –       Magha Puja, Buddhist
3 –       Purim, Judaism
3 –       Holi, Hindu
4-6 –    Hola Mohalla, Sikh
11 –      Varshitapa Arambha, Jain
14 –      Nanakshahi (New Year), Sikh
16 –      Laylat Al-Qadr, Islam
16-20 – Hamaspathmaidyem Gahambar, Zoroastrian
17 –      St Patrick’s Day, Christian
19 –      Feast of Saint Joseph, Christian
19 –      Chaitra Navratri begins, Hindu
19 –      Ugadi (New Year), Hindu
20 –      Eid Al-Fitr, Islam
20 –      Shunbun No Hi, Shinto
20 –      Ostara, Wicca and Pagan
20 –      Nowruz (New Year), Persian and Zoroastrian
21 –      Naw-Rúz, Bahá’í
24 –      Rohini Vrat, Jain
25 –      Chaitra Navapada Oli begins, Jain
25 –      Annunciation of the Lord, Catholic Christian
25 –      Annunciation to the Theotokos, Orthodox Christian
25 –      Annunciation of the Virgin Mary, Christian
26 –      Khordad Sal, Zoroastrian
26 –      Rama Navami, Hindu
29 –      Palm Sunday, Catholic Christian
31 –      Mahavir Swami Jayanti, Jain

Awareness and Events

1 –        Zero Discrimination Day
1 –        International Wheelchair Day
3 –        World Hearing Day
8 –        International Women’s Day
15 –      Mother’s Day
16-22 – Neurodiversity Celebration Week
20 –      Spring Equinox
21 –      International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
21 –      World Down Syndrome Day
24 –      World Tuberculosis (TB) Day
25 –      International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade
30 –      World Bipolar Day
31 –      International Trans Day of Visibility