20 Fun Facts About the Month of March

The month of March isn't just about celebrating St. Patrick's Day and the start of spring

According to our calendars, March is here again—a month where we celebrate Women’s History Month, St. Patrick’s Day and more! But there’s more to the month of March than meets the eye. In fact, there are so many interesting and fun facts about March, some may consider it the best month of the year.

So if you’re a fan of March holidays, and the fact that the first day of spring is in March (cheers to warmer weather!), we have 20 March facts for you to learn about below.

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1. March was once considered the first month of the year

Welcome to the third month of the year—or if you were born before 150 B.C., the first! According to the oldest Roman calendars, one year was 10 months long, beginning in March and ending in December. It may sound crazy, but you can still see traces of this old system in our modern calendar: Because December was the 10th month, it was named for the number 10 in Latin (decem), just like September was named for seven (septem). January and February were the exceptions: They were just two nameless months called “winter,” proving that winter is literally so awful, it doesn’t even deserve a spot on the calendar.

2. March symbolizes transformation and new growth

Welcome spring. Goodbye winter. White melting snow and green grass. Empty place for text, quote or sayings.FotoDuets/Getty Images

As the bridge from winter to spring, March carries strong symbolism: new growth and transformation. It’s the time when animals awake from hibernation and when people around the world partake in spring celebrations—along with spring cleaning rituals to make their homes feel new. It also heralds the start of a new astrological year, transitioning from Pisces season to Aries season.

3. March has two birth flowers

March’s birth flowers, delightful daffodils and charming jonquils, have different meanings. But take note: All jonquils are daffodils, but not all daffodils are jonquils! Daffodils represent rebirth and hope, while jonquils represent affection and love. Daffodils are believed to have been named after Narcissus, the son of the river god, Cephissus, from Greek mythology. Legend has it that Narcissus fell in love with his own reflection in the water. He was so entranced that he fell into the pool and drowned, with one daffodil blooming in his place of death.

4. March has two birthstones

March has double birthstone magic: Aquamarine, with its watery name, was like a lucky charm for Roman sailors, who believed it protected them on the high seas. Some also thought it could cool tempers, prevent poisoning and increase the chance of epiphanies. Meanwhile, its birthstone buddy, bloodstone, has an association with bravery and vitality that goes back to the Middle Ages and Christian legends. 

5. March is the best month for basketball—and the worst month for productivity

NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament- ChampionshipMitchell Layton/Getty Images

For civilians, the month of March is known for one thing above all others: brackets. March Madness, as the NCAA calls it, runs from March 19 to April 8 this year. But despite being an exciting month for college-hoops fans, March is not the best for U.S. employers. According to the global outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, productivity decreases during March Madness, with U.S. employers losing around $13.3 billion in productivity during the tournament.

6. March is the most popular month for vasectomies

March Madness is a cherished time to reacquaint oneself with the couch, especially during the early tournament days when dozens of games unfold consecutively. In other words, it’s the perfect week to recover from a vasectomy! According to Live Science, the number of vasectomies surges by 50% during the first week of March Madness. Why? Patients typically need “at least a day with ice” to keep swelling down, urologist Stephen Jones, MD, told Fox News, “so if they’re going to spend a whole day doing nothing, it’s not hard to figure out that they’d want to do it on a day they’d like to be sitting in front of the television.”

7. March was named after Mars 

Outer space exploration with Mars planet.Artur Debat/Getty Images

March was actually named for the Latin Martius—aka Mars, the Roman god of war and a mythical ancestor of the Roman people via his wolf-suckling sons, Romulus and Remus. With the winter frosts melting and the ground becoming fertile for harvest again in the Northern Hemisphere, the month of March was perfect for farmers to resume farming, as well as for warriors to resume warring.

Incidentally, the Pentagon still seems to agree with this Roman tradition: With the exception of the recent war in Afghanistan, almost all major U.S.-NATO-led military operations since the invasion of Vietnam have begun in the month of March. To name a few: Vietnam (initiated March 8, 1965), Iraq (March 20, 2003) and Libya (March 19, 2011).

8.  The Ides of March led to Caesar’s downfall 

We’ve all heard it uttered, but what does “beware the Ides of March” actually mean? On the Roman calendar, the midpoint of every month was known as the Ides. The Ides of March fell on March 15. This day was supposed to correlate with the first full moon of the year (remember, winter didn’t count then), and as a result, it was marked by religious ceremonies. But thanks to Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, we know it for another reason.

Supposedly, in 44 B.C., a seer told Julius Caesar that his downfall would come no later than the Ides of March. Caesar ignored him, and when the fated day rolled around, he joked with the seer, “The Ides of March have come.” The seer replied, “Aye, Caesar; but not gone.” Caesar continued on to a senate meeting at the Theatre of Pompey and was summarily murdered by as many as 60 conspirators. Ironically, the spot where Caesar was assassinated is protected in today’s Rome as a no-kill cat sanctuary. So if someone tells you “beware the Ides of March,” they are probably just being a jerk or letting you know they’ve read Shakespeare.

More fun facts about the month of March

scott kelly Expedition 46 Landing longest time in spaceBill Ingalls/Getty Images

9. March 1: As the saying goes, March comes “in like a lion and out like a lamb.” That was certainly true on March 1, 2007, when a detachment of 170 Swiss infantrymen accidentally invaded neighboring Liechtenstein after getting lost on a training mission. Luckily, after explaining the mistake to Liechtenstein, the Swiss army was given directions and returned home safely.

10. March 2: On this date in 2016, NASA astronaut Scott Kelly returned to Earth after nearly one full year on the International Space Station, setting a new record for the longest uninterrupted trip to space.

11. March 6: The Day of the Dude encourages participants to honor The Big Lebowski by takin’ ‘er easy all day, man, and maybe buying a new rug—it’ll really tie the room together.

12. March 7: The popular board game Monopoly was invented on March 7, 1933.

13. March 10: Ramadan starts in the month of March. It’s a 30-day observance for prayer, fasting and reflection for those of Muslim faith.

14. March 10: Daylight saving time begins, freeing American city-dwellers from the constant refrain of “it’s dark before I even leave work.”

15. March 14: Pi Day celebrates the annual occurrence of 3/14 with math jokes, pi-reciting competitions and (of course) freshly baked pie.

16. March 17: St. Patrick’s Day turns the Chicago River green, among other festivities.  And on this day in 1973, Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon” first hit the Billboard Top 200 chart at number 95. A mere 14 years later (736 chart weeks, to be exact), it finally left the top 200 for the first time, setting a still-unbroken world record.

17. March 19: The sun shines on the equator for the vernal equinox, giving us a near 50-50 split of day and night.

18. March 21: The day Twitter was launched in 2006. Founder Jack Dorsey inaugurated the social media site with his profound first tweet: “just setting up my twttr.” We can’t believe he spelled it that way either!

19. March 24: Palm Sunday marks the first day of Holy Week for Christians. It is celebrated on the Sunday before Easter, which is also the last Sunday of Lent.

20. March 29: On Good Friday, Christians commemorate Jesus’s crucifixion. Those who honor the day may observe it through fasting or by attending a church service.

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