March is the third month of the year in both theJulian andGregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days. In theNorthern Hemisphere, themeteorological beginning ofspring occurs on the first day of March. TheMarch equinox on the 20 or 21 marks the astronomical beginning of spring in the Northern Hemisphere and the beginning ofautumn in the Southern Hemisphere, whereSeptember is the seasonal equivalent of the Northern Hemisphere's March.
March, from theTrès Riches Heures du Duc de Berry, a book of prayers to be said atcanonical hoursIn recent decades, the number of warm temperature records in March has outpaced cold temperature records over a growing portion of Earth's surface.[1]
The name of March comes fromMartius, the first month of the earliestRoman calendar. It was named afterMars, theRoman god of war, and an ancestor of the Roman people through his sonsRomulus and Remus. His monthMartius was the beginning of the season for warfare,[2] and thefestivals held in his honor during the month were mirrored by others in October, when the season for these activities came to a close.[3]Martius remained the first month of the Roman calendar year perhaps as late as 153 BC,[4] and severalreligious observances in the first half of the month were originallynew year's celebrations.[5] Even inlate antiquity,Roman mosaics picturing the months sometimes still placed March first.[6]
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 (the fiscal year in the UK continues to begin on 6 April, initially identical to 25 March in the former Julian calendar). Many other cultures, for example in Iran, or Ethiopia, still celebrate the beginning of the New Year in March.[7]
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).
Ancient Roman observances celebrated in March includeAgonium Martiale, celebrated on March 1, March 14, and March 17,Matronalia, celebrated on March 1,Junonalia, celebrated on March 7,Equirria, celebrated on March 14,Mamuralia, celebrated on either March 14 or March 15,Hilaria on March 15 and then through March 22–28,Argei, celebrated on March 16–17,Liberalia andBacchanalia, celebrated March 17,Quinquatria, celebrated March 19–23, andTubilustrium, celebrated March 23. These dates do not correspond to the modernGregorian calendar.
InFinnish, the month is calledmaaliskuu, which is believed to originate frommaallinen kuu. The latter meansearthy month and may refer to the first appearance of "earth" from under the winter's snow.[8] InUkrainian, the month is calledберезень/berezenʹ, meaningbirch tree, and březen in Czech. Historical names for March include theSaxonLentmonat, named after theMarch equinox and gradual lengthening of days, and the eventual namesake ofLent.Saxons also called MarchRhed-monat orHreth-monath (deriving from their goddessRhedam/Hreth), andAngles called itHyld-monath, which became the EnglishLide. In Croatia, the month is calledOžujak. InSlovene, the traditional name issušec, 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 examplebrezen andbreznik, "the month of birches".[9] TheTurkish wordMart is given after the name ofMars the god.
(AllBaháʼí,Islamic, andJewish observances begin at the sundown prior to the date listed, and end at sundown of the date in question unless otherwise noted.)
^"Mean Monthly Temperature Records Across the Globe". National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Link is an example for one month; for other months, change the "202501" in the preceding URL toyyyymm, whereyyyy is the four-digit year andmm is the two-digit month (01=January through 12=December)
^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 ofGeorg 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.
