50+ Lifestyles

Religious Observances in the Month of March

By Eloise Graham

The Ides of March is March 15, and best known as the date Julius Caesar was stabbed to death in 44 BCE. He was at a meeting of the Senate. As many as 60 conspirators led by Brutus and Cassius were involved. Caesar was warned of the doom by a soothsayer. The famous line, “Beware of the Ides of March” was immortalized by William Shakespeare in his play Julius Caesar.

However, the ides of March go back much further in history. The ides of any month was a religious celebratory sacrifice and feast. The ides of March was the occasion of the Feast of Anna Perenna, the goddess of the year. For centuries, the new year began with the ides of March.

St. Patrick was a fifth-century Roman-British Christian missionary and bishop in Ireland. Known as the “Apostle of Ireland” he is the primary patron saint of Ireland. There are many legends surrounding him. One tells that he miraculously drove all of the snakes out of the country and into the sea. Another tell that he used the shamrock and it’s three leaves to explain the Holy Trinity. St. Patrick’s Day, also known as the Feast of Saint Patrick, is a cultural and religious celebration commemorating the death date of Saint Patrick. March 17 is the accepted day of his death, however historians disagree on the year, sometime between 457 and 461.

Palm Sunday is Christian feast day that falls on the Sunday before Easter. This year that date is March 28. Palm Sunday is the day that commemorates Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem. This event is mentioned in each of the four canonical Gospels. Palm Sunday is so called because people covered the road into Jerusalem with palm branches as Jesus rode in. It is also known a Passion Sunday, the beginning of Holy Week for Christians.