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. 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 St. David’s Day, the feast day of St. David who is the patron saint of Wales. March 2 (sunset) to March 20 (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. March 5 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 7 to 8 is Lailat al Bara’a, also known as Lailat Al Baraah, Barat, or popularly as Shab-e-Bara or Night of Forgiveness; it is an Islamic holiday during which practitioners of the faith seek forgiveness for sins and regarded as one of the most sacred nights on the Islamic calendar. March 7 to 8 is also 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 7 to 8 is also 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 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 8 to 10 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 9 is Asian-American Women’s and Pacific Islander Women’s Equal Pay Day; the aim is to raise awareness about the pay gap between Asian-American and Pacific Islander women and White men. March 17 is 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 19 is St. Joseph’s Day, in Western Christianity the principal feast of St. Joseph, the husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary. March 20 is 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 20 to 21 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 to 21 is also Nowruz/Norooz, Persian New Year, a day of joy, celebration, and renewal; it is held annually on the spring equinox. 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 22 to 31 is Chaitra Navaratri, a nine-day festival which starts on the first day of Hindu Luni-Solar calendar. March 22 to April 21 (sundown to sundown) is Ramadan, an Islamic holiday marked by fasting, praise, prayer, and devotion to Islam. March 25 is 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 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 30 is Ram Navami, a Hindu day of worship and celebration of the seventh avatar of Vishnu (Lord Rama); devotees typically wear red and place extravagant flowers on the shrine of the god. 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.