March: Festivals & Observances

Cenn John
February 29, 2024

This March, we set out on a journey to nurture kindness and compassion in the hearts and minds of our young ones. This month, our focus is on the core value of To Be Good (德), delving into the principles of moral uprightness, empathy, and integrity that form the bedrock of our nursery and childcare services. As we honor the remarkable women in our lives, we celebrate Mother's Day (母亲节) with heartfelt appreciation and gratitude. Discover how we commemorate this special occasion with our little ones, recognizing the love, sacrifice, and unwavering support of mothers and maternal figures everywhere. March also marks the celebration of Red Nose Day (红鼻子日), a time for us to come together and raise awareness and funds for children in need. Learn how we engage our young learners in fun and meaningful activities to support this worthy cause, spreading joy and making a positive impact in the lives of others.

March Educational Assets

March Festival Overview

March Language List

March Festivals Character Cards

March Festival Song

1st March - St. David's Day - St. David’s Day is a Welsh holiday dedicated to celebrating the life and contributions of St. David, the patron saint of Wales. It’s a day when people in Wales and those of Welsh descent around the world come together to honor their heritage and culture.

3rd March - World Wildlife Day - In December 2013, the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed 3 March as World Wildlife Day to celebrate and raise awareness of the world’s wild fauna and flora. The date is the day of the adoption of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in 1973 (https://www.cites.org/eng/disc/text.php), which plays an important role in ensuring that international trade does not threaten the wildlife survival.

7th March - World Book Day - World Book Day is a charity event held annually in the United Kingdom and Ireland on the first Thursday in March. On World Book Day, every child in full-time education in the UK and the Republic of Ireland is provided with a voucher to be spent on books; the event was first celebrated in the United Kingdom in 1998

8th - 15th March - British Science Week - A ten-day celebration of science, technology, engineering and maths with events, experiments and activities across the UK. A great opportunity for people of all ages, areas and organisations to take part in science, engineering and technology activities.

8th March - International Women's Day - This Day aims to highlight the importance of creating conditions for the elimination of discrimination against women and for their full and equal participation in social development.

10th March - Mother's Day - Mother's Day is a special occasion that provides us with the opportunity to express our love and gratitude towards the incredible women who have nurtured and supported us throughout our lives. In the UK the day is celebrated on the fourth Sunday of Lent, which usually falls in March. It is a day to honour mothers, grandmothers, stepmothers, and maternal figures who have played a significant role in shaping us.

11th March - Commonwealth Day - An annual event in which the fifty-two member countries of the Commonwealth celebrate their links with one another.
Each year the day has a different theme – the theme for 2017 is ‘A peace-building Commonwealth’. Find out more on the Commonwealth Day web page. See more.

14th March - International School Meals Day - In order for young people to achieve and learn in school it is important that they develop a healthy eating habit. The idea of International School Meals Day emerged as a way to raise awareness of the importance in teaching children the value of food to education and culture, the importance of good nutrition and connecting children around the world to foster healthy eating habits in school and at home.

15th March - Red Nose Day - Red Nose Day is an annual fundraising campaign with the mission to end child poverty by funding programs that keep children safe, healthy, educated and empowered.

17th March - St Patrick's Day - St. Patrick’s Day is the feast day of St. Patrick, a patron saint of Ireland. Originally celebrated with religious feasts and services, St. Patrick’s Day became a secular celebration of Irish culture when it reached the United States alongside Irish immigrants.

20th March - International Day of Happiness - In July 2012, the United Nations General Assembly adopted Resolution 66/281 which decreed that International Day of Happiness would be observed every year on 20 March. The stated aim of the Day is: “To promote happiness as a universal goal and aspiration in the lives of human beings around the world”. Further background can be found on the UN International Day of Happiness web page. Read more.

21st March - International Day of Forests - In November 2012 the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed 21 March the International Day of Forests. The aim of the Day is to celebrate all types of forest and raise awareness of sustainable management, conservation and sustainable development for the benefit of current and future generations.

21st March - World Poetry Day - World Poetry Day was adopted as 21 March by UNESCO in 1999. It is an invitation to reflect on the power of language and the full development of each person’s creative abilities. It also supports linguistic diversity through poetic expression and offers endangered languages the opportunity to be heard within their communities.
Further information is available on the UN World Poetry Day web page. Read more.

27th March - International day of Multilingualism - March 27^th marks the International Day of Multilingualism, celebrating the ability to speak more languages than one's own native language. March 27^th 196 BC is the date mentioned on the Rosetta Stone, which displays Ancient Egyptian, in hieroglyph and Demonic text, and Ancient Greek. The Stone was crucial to better understand the meaning of Egyptian hieroglyphs as linguists in the 1800s managed to read them by translating the Ancient Greek text. The day aims to promote learning various languages, because humans have evolved over thousands of years to adapt and speak more than one language easily! And they are many to discover... As a matter of fact, the most extensive catalog of the world's languages listed 6,909 distinct known languages - which isn't exhaustive!.

29th March - Good Friday - Good Friday is a Christian religious holiday commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and his death at Calvary. The holiday is observed during Holy Week as part of the Paschal Triduum on the Friday preceding Easter Sunday, and may coincide with the Jewish observance of Passover. It is also known as Holy Friday, Great Friday, Black Friday, or Easter Friday, though the last term properly refers to the Friday in Easter week.

31st March - Easter Sunday - The week before Easter is called Holy Week, and it contains the days of the Easter Triduum, including Maundy Thursday, commemorating the Maundy and Last Supper, as well as Good Friday, commemorating the crucifixion and death of Jesus. In western Christianity, Eastertide, the Easter Season, begins on Easter Sunday and lasts seven weeks, ending with the coming of the fiftieth day, Pentecost Sunday. In Orthodoxy, the season of Pascha begins on Pascha and ends with the coming of the fortieth day, the Feast of the Ascension.