Continuing in our commitment to sharing festivals from other faiths so we might better befriend and
understand our neighbours, as mentioned by Sarah Kerr, our President, here are the Faiths festivals
taking place in March.
Christian St. Davids day 1st March
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-51649367
Baha’I Fast 2nd to 20th March
Adherents of the Baháʼí Faith observe a sunrise-to-sunset fast annually for the nineteen days of the Baháʼí month of Loftiness. The practice is regarded as one of the most significant obligations of a Baháʼí, along with daily obligatory prayers. There are several exemptions to the fast, such as
pregnancy or illness, and it only applies to those 15 to 70 years old.
https://bahai.works/Lights_of_Guidance/The_Fast
Buddhist Magha Puja (Sangha day) 3rd March
Sangha Day is the second most important Buddhist festival. It is a celebration in honour of the
Sangha, or the Buddhist community.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/buddhism/holydays/sangha.shtml
Jewish Purim 3rd March
Purim is a festival when Jews remember Esther, who was the Queen of Persia more than 2,000 years
ago.
https://www.chabad.org/holidays/purim/article_cdo/aid/645309/jewish/What-Is-Purim.htm
Hindu Holi 3rd / 4th March (full moon)
Holi is a Hindu festival celebrating the start of spring, which is the season of hope and new
beginnings.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/z4qqy9q
Sikh Hola Mohalla 4th to 6th March
Hola is a three-day long Sikh festival established by Guru Gobind Singh, for the Sikhs to demonstrate their martial skills. It follows the Hindu festival of Holi by one day.
https://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Hola_Mahalla
Chistian World day of prayer 6th March
The World Day of Prayer (WDP) is a worldwide movement led by Christian women of many
traditions, who call the faithful together to observe a common day of prayer on the first Friday in
March.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Day_of_Prayer
Zoroastrian (Iranian) Fravardigan 11th to 20th March
FRAWARDĪGĀN (New Pers. farvardagān), name of the ten-day Zoroastrian festival (gāhānbār) at
year’s end in honour of the spirits of the dead.
https://www.reonline.org.uk/festival_event/fravardigan-muktad-2/
Sikh Nanakshahi calendar (Sikh New Year) 14th March
The start of the Sikh festivals calendar and the Sikh New Year.
https://www.reonline.org.uk/festival_event/new-year/
Buddhist Hoen Matsuri 15th March
This festival is to ensure fertility for the coming year at a time when rice planting is about to begin.
https://nationaltoday.com/honen-matsuri/
Christian Mothering Sunday 15th March
Mothering Sunday is the fourth Sunday of Lent. Although it’s often called Mothers’ Day it has no
connection with the American festival of that name.
https://www.churchofengland.org/media/stories-and-features/mothering-sunday-what-are-its-
origins-church
Muslim Lailat- ul-Qadr: Night of power 16th March
Known as the Night of power.
https://www.reonline.org.uk/festival_event/lailat-ul-qadr-the-night-of-power-honour-dignity-2/
Christian St. Patricks day 17th March
St. Patrick’s Day, feast day (March 17) of St. Patrick, patron saint of Ireland. Born in Roman Britain in the late 4th century, he was kidnapped at the age of 16 and taken to Ireland as a slave. He escaped but returned about 432 ce to convert the Irish to Christianity. By the time of his death on March 17, 461, he had established monasteries, churches, and schools.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/zf3hcqt/revision/7
Christian (Catholic) St. Josephs day 19th March
St Joseph’s Day is a Christian feast day which honours Saint Joseph. Saint Joseph was the husband of the Virgin Mary, and legal father of Jesus Christ, as outlined in the Bible.
https://ewtn.co.uk/article-the-story-behind-the-feast-of-st-joseph-the-worker/
Buddhist (Japanese) Higan 20th March
Higan is a Buddhist festival that happens twice in the year, marking the Spring and Autumn equinox with a period of spiritual reflection and practice.
https://www.dharmawheel.net/viewtopic.php?t=34813
Muslim Eid-ul-Fitr 20th March
Eid ul-Fitr is a festival- the festival of breaking the fast, that marks the end of Ramadan.
https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/what-is-eid-al-fitr-and-how-is-it-celebrated
Pagan Spring Equinox 20th /21st March
Also known as Ostara and Alban Eilir, symbolising balance, renewal and fertility.
https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2009/03/spring-equinox-rituals-and-meaning.html
Baha’I Naw-Ruz 21st March
Naw-Ruz (which means New Day) is celebrated at the vernal equinox, on the first day of spring. It is a time of joy and celebration, with the darkness of winter coming to an end and the reappearance of light, warmth and the beauty of spring’s flowers. It is a day of new beginnings – of change and hope.
https://www.reonline.org.uk/festival_event/naw-ruz/
Zoroastrian Jamsheedi Noruz
Jamshedi Nowruz is a 3,000-year-old Zoroastrian festival marking the Persian New Year and the
vernal equinox (spring equinox) on March 20 or 21.
https://www.spiritualarts.org.uk/jamsheedi-noruz/
Christian Passion Sunday 22nd March
Passion Sunday is the fifth Sunday in Lent in several Christian traditions and is the beginning of
Passiontide.
https://www.catholic.com/encyclopedia/passiontide
Zoroastrian Ava Mah Parab
Ava is short for the divinity Aredvi Sura Anahita, the guardian protector of the waters, who is
associated with fertility. On the day of Ava, the 10th day of the month of Ava, the 8th month,
Zoroastrians celebrate the birthday of the waters by going to the seas, rivers and streams and
reciting the Aredvi Sura Niyayeesh or ‘Litany to the Waters’.
https://www.spiritualarts.org.uk/ava-mah-parab/
Christian 25th March Annunciation
The Feast of the Annunciation marks the day the angel Gabriel appeared to the Virgin Mary and
proclaimed that she would conceive and bear the Son of God.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/christianity/holydays/annunciation.shtml
Hindu Rama Navami 26th March
Rama Navami is a festival that celebrates the birthday of Rama, the seventh avatar of Vishnu.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/hinduism/holydays/rama.shtml
Zoroastrian Khordad Sal 26th March
The Birthday of Zarathushtra, the founding prophet of Zoroastrianism, and is one of the most
important Zoroastrian festivals.
https://www.spiritualarts.org.uk/khordad-sal/
Christian Palm Sunday 29th March
Palm Sunday is the Christian feast that falls on the Sunday before Easter.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/52173244
Jain Mahavir Jayanti 31st March
Mahavir Jayanti, a significant festival in Jainism, honours the birth of Lord Mahavir, the 24th
Tirthankara and esteemed spiritual leader. On this special day, Jain devotees actively participate in
charitable deeds and prayers, often culminating in the ceremonial bathing of Lord Mahavir’s image.
https://www.sathyasai.org/events/festival/mahavir-jayanti
With thanks to The Shap Calendar for the valuable information