March is a wonderful time of year that, with the end of winter, leads to many interesting things, such as Lent season, Saint Patrick’s Day, and International Women’s Day, among many others.

From the beginning of March to the end there are many celebrations, one of them being Lent. Lent is a Christian tradition that lasts for 40 days before Easter in which Christians prepare for Jesus’s resurrection through prayer, penance, and almsgiving. A common way to participate in Lent is by giving something up in order to grow in faith.

“You want to relate to the struggles of Jesus as he was starving in a desert, but you want to do it in a way that’s actually possible for you because you can’t starve yourself in a desert for 40 days, so you have to choose something that means something to you  to give up, whether that be something material or something like not eating meat or fasting on Fridays,” said Dane Coolidge (‘21).

Dane, like many other Christians at this time of year, is giving up something that is important to him. “For Lent, I’m debating between [giving up] music, which is a really big part of my life, or video games, which is my main source of entertainment,” said Coolidge.

Another important date in March is International Women’s Day.

“International Women’s Day is on March 8 and it celebrates all women around the world by taking the time and the day to appreciate them,” said Luana Yeung (‘21).

This holiday was officially celebrated for the first time in 1975, though the movement for a day celebrating women goes back to far before then, to the beginnings of the women’s rights movement.

While a lot of progress has been made since then, gender equality is still not evident around the world. On average, women still only make 77 cents for every dollar that a man makes for the same work, and occupy less than 23% of global parliament seats.

“I feel like, especially in our society right now, women aren’t really recognized as a dominant power, so I think it’s important to recognize that men and women are equal and feminism is important,” said Yeung.

Each year, there is a theme for International Women’s Day. This year it was “think equal, build smart, innovate for change.”

International Women’s Day is celebrated around the world with parades, rallies, giving gifts, and in some places even getting time off of work to celebrate.

The most notable and well-known holiday in March is, of course, Saint Patrick’s Day.

Many people recognize this holiday because of the tradition of wearing green, and most people follow this tradition in order to avoid being pinched. But where did this tradition come from?

There are many different reasons people wear green on Saint Patrick’s Day, including for Saint Patrick (patron saint of Ireland), the green on the Irish flag, the color of shamrocks, nature, and spring, and it being a tradition among Irish immigrants to show national pride.

And as for why you’ll get pinched for not wearing green, that tradition stems from the belief that if you wear green, leprechauns can’t see you, and therefore won’t be able to pinch you.

Hopefully you didn’t get pinched this year for not wearing green, but even if you did, there’s always next year!