Religious Festivals for this month

Mar 1 Mon
Shushan Purim (Jewish )
In some places Purim is celebrated one day later. In this case it is called Shushan Purim.
Hola Mohalla (Lunar Calendar) (Sikh )
Hola Mohalla is three day festival of military exercises and mock battles, together with religious discussions and devotional music, at Anandpur Sahib on the day after Holi.
St David's Day (Christian )
Saint David, or Dewi Sant as he's called in the Welsh language, is the patron saint of Wales.

Mar Tue 2
Nineteen Day Fast (start) (Bahai )
Ends 20 March. During this period Baha'is go without food or drink from sunrise to sunset.

Mar Wed 3
Hina-matsuri - Festival of Dolls (Shinto )
Celebrates daughters in the family
Milad un Nabi (Shia) (Muslim )
Birthday of the Prophet Muhammad. Sunni Muslims celebrate this 5 days earlier. Some Muslims do not approve of celebrating the birthday, and regard doing so as a religious innovation.

Mar Fri 5
St Piran's Day (Christian )
Piran is regarded as the patron saint of Cornwall and tin miners. He was born in Ireland. The Cornish flag may have been inspired by the legend that Piran discovered the process for smelting tin: black rock with a white cross of pure metal.
Women's World Day of Prayer (Christian )
This dates from 1887 and is celebrated on the first Friday of March

Mar Sun 14
Mothering Sunday (Christian )
Mothering Sunday is the fourth Sunday of Lent. Not the same as Mothers' Day in the USA.

Mar Tue 16
Ugadi (Yugadi) (Hindu )
Ugadi (literally 'the start of an era') is the New Year festival for Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka in southern India. It occurs on the first day of the month of Chaitra.

Mar Wed 17
St Patrick's Day (Christian )
St Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland.

Mar Fri 19
St Joseph, husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Christian )

Mar Sat 20
Spring Equinox - Eoster (Pagan )
Spring Equinox celebrates the renewed life of the Earth that comes with the Spring.

Mar Sun 21
Naw-Ruz (Bahai )
Baha'i New Year
Jamshedi Noruz (Fasli) (Zoroastrian )
Zoroastrian New Year's Day in the Fasli calendar.
Shubun-sai - Equinox day (Shinto )
A day for visiting graves. Also associated with Buddhism in Japan.

Mar Wed 24
Rama Navami (Hindu )
Birthday of Lord Rama, an incarnation of Vishnu and the hero of the Ramayana
Swaminarayan Jayanti (Hindu )
This day marks the birth of Lord Swaminarayan for followers of the Swaminarayan tradition.

Mar Thu 25
Annunciation (Christian )
Marks the angel Gabriel's message to the Virgin Mary that she would give birth to the incarnation of Christ. It also celebrates the incarnation itself as the date falls 9 months before Christmas.

Mar Fri 26
Khordad Sal (Fasli) (Zoroastrian )
The birthday of Zoroaster, celebrated on this date in the Fasli calendar. Also known as the Greater Noruz

Mar Sun 28
Palm Sunday (Christian )
The sixth and last Sunday of Lent. Marks the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem and the start of Holy Week.
Mahavira Jayanti (Jain )
The birth anniversary of Lord Mahavira, the 24th Tirthankar and the "founder" of modern Jainism

Mar Mon 29
Fast of the Firstborn (Jewish )
Observed only by firstborn males, on the day before Passover. This fast celebrates the survival of Jewish firtborn sons from the 10th Plague of Egypt.

Mar Tue 30
Hanuman Jayanti (Hindu )
This festival marks the birth of Hanuman, the Monkey God.
Theravada New Year (Buddhist )
New Year festival for Theravada Buddhists, celebrated for three days from the first full moon day in April
Magha Puja (Buddhist )
Fourfold Assembly or Sangha Day. Marks the day Buddha addressed a meeting of 1250 arahants.
Passover (1st day) (Jewish )
The start of the season of Passover when Jews commemorate the liberation of the Children of Israel who were led out of Egypt by Moses. Work is not permitted on the first two and the last two days of Passover.