by The Justice William J. Murray Jr. Unity Bar Section

Cultural Awareness Brief from The Justice William J. Murray Jr. Unity Bar Section

March is Women’s History Month; established in 1987, Women’s History Month recognizes all women for their valuable contributions to history and society. March is also National Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month established to increase awareness and understanding of issues affecting people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, National Multiple Sclerosis Education and Awareness Month established to raise public awareness of the autoimmune disease that affects the brain and spinal cord, and National Irish American Heritage Month celebrating the Irish American heritage and culture and paying tribute to the contributions of Irish immigrants and their descendants living in the United States. February 28 (sunset) to March 19 (sunset) is the Nineteen-Day Fast, a time in the Bahá’í faith to reinvigorate the soul and bring one closer to God; this fast takes place immediately before the beginning of the Bahá’í New Year. February 28 to March 30 (sundown to sundown) is Ramadan, an Islamic holiday marked by fasting, praise, prayer, and devotion to Islam. March 13 to April 15 is Deaf History Month; this observance celebrates key events in deaf history including the founding of Gallaudet University and the American School for the Deaf. 

March 1 is Zero Discrimination Day, meant to highlight the need for people to be informed about and promote inclusion, compassion, peace and, above all, a movement for change. March 1 is also St. David’s Day, the feast day of St. David who is the patron saint of Wales. March 2 is Cheesefare Sunday (or Forgiveness Sunday), the last Sunday prior to the commencement of Great Lent for Orthodox Christians. March 3 is Beginning of Great Lent (or Clean Monday) in the Orthodox Christian faith. March 5 is Equal Pay Day, a symbolic day that marks how far into the year women must work to earn what men earned in the previous year. March 8 is International Women’s Day; first observed in 1911 in Germany, it has now become a major global celebration honoring women’s economic, political, and social achievements. March 9 is Orthodox Sunday, celebrated on the first Sunday of Great Lent; it is the celebration of the victory of the iconodules over the iconoclasts by the decision of the Seventh Ecumenical Council and commemorates the restoration of icons for use in services as well as a Christian’s private devotional life.

March 13 to 14 is Purim, a Jewish celebration that marks the time when the Jewish community living in Persia was saved from genocide; on Purim, Jewish people dress up in costumes, offer charity, and share food with friends. March 14 is Holi, the annual Hindu and Sikh spring religious festival observed in India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, along with other countries with large Hindu and Sikh populations; people celebrate Holi by throwing colored powder and water at each other, and bonfires are lit the day before in memory of the miraculous escape that young Prahlada accomplished when demoness Holika carried him into the fire. March 14 to 16 is Hola Mohalla, a Sikh festival that takes place on the second day of the lunar month of Chet, a day after the Hindu spring festival Holi. March 15 is International Day to Combat Islamophobia, which is observed to bring awareness to the growing global problem of Islamophobia. March 17 is also St. Patrick’s Day, a holiday started in Ireland to recognize St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland who brought Christianity to the country in the early days of the faith. March 17 to 23 is Neurodiversity Celebration Week, recognizing and celebrating neurological differences.

March 19 is St. Joseph’s Day, in Western Christianity the principal feast of St. Joseph, the husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary. March 19 to 20 is Naw-Rúz, the Bahá’í New Year, a holiday celebrated on the vernal equinox; it is one of the nine Bahá’í holy days on which work is suspended. March 20 is Nowruz/Norooz, Persian New Year, a day of joy, celebration, and renewal; it is held annually on the spring equinox.  

March 20 is also Ostara, a celebration of the spring equinox commemorated by Pagans and Wiccans; it is observed as a time to mark the coming of spring and the fertility of the land. March 21 is International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, observed annually in the wake of the 1960 killing of 69 people at a demonstration against apartheid “pass laws” in South Africa; the United Nations proclaimed the day in 1966 and called on the international community to redouble its efforts to eliminate all forms of racial discrimination.

March 25 is International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade; a United Nations international observation that offers the opportunity to honor and remember those who suffered and died at the hands of the brutal slavery system. March 25 is also the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary, a Christian celebration of the announcement by the angel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary that she would conceive and become the mother of Jesus. March 26 is Khordad Sal, which is the birth anniversary of Zoroaster, a spiritual leader and ethical philosopher who taught a spiritual philosophy of self-realization and realization of the divine; Zoroastrians celebrate this day with prayer and feasting. March 31 is International Transgender Day of Visibility, celebrated to bring awareness to transgender people and their identities as well as recognize those who helped fight for rights for transgender people.