Lent – Millie Thom

March is the third month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars and the second of seven months to have 31 days. In the northern hemisphere, March 1st is the meteorological beginning of spring and, in the southern hemisphere, the beginning of autumn.

In the northern hemisphere, the astrological beginning of spring is marked by the March/spring/vernal equinox on March 20^th/21^st. In the southern hemisphere, this equinox marks the astrological beginning of autumn.

The March equinox has long been celebrated as a time of rebirth in the northern hemisphere. Many cultures celebrate spring festivals and holidays around the equinox, including Easter and the Passover.

The Last Supper

The Passover

The name of March comes from Martius, the first month of the earliest Roman calendar. It was named after Mars, best known as the Roman god of war, but he was also a god of fertility and agriculture.

As the god of war, his month (March) marked the beginning of the season of warfare, which lasted until October. Chariot races, horse races and dressing and dancing in battle armour were just three of the ways in which Romans celebrated the skills of battle during this month.

Chariot Races: Theme park of Puy du Fou. Author: Midx1004 at English Wikipedia. Public Domain

Chariot Races. Project Gutenberg’s Young Folks’ History of Rome, by Charlotte Mary Yonge (1823-1901) Public Domain

In his role as god of fertility and agriculture (which he shared with other gods/goddesses like Ceres and Cybele) Mars oversaw the new growth of spring and the continuation of life through the fertility and procreation in people, animals and plants.

The Anglo Saxon names for March were Hlyda or Lide monath (stormy or loud month) or Hraed monath (rugged month). The ‘loudness’ reflected in these names refers to the March winds, which were considered very noisy – as described in this little rhyme:

March brings breezes loud and shrill,
Stirs the dancing daffodil.
~Sara Coleridge (1802–1852), “The Months,” Pretty Lessons In Verse, For Good Children; With Some Lessons in Latin, In Easy Rhyme, 1834

Another Saxon name for March was Lentmonath which is named after the March equinox and the gradual lengthening of days. This name gradually became simply, Lent – the 40 days leading up to Easter in the Christian Church, during which people traditionally fasted.

The birth flower for March is the daffodil (narcissus) – also known as the Lent Lily as it blooms throughout that period:

The astrological signs for March are Pisces until the 20th and Aries after that:

Pisces

Aries

The birthstones for March are aquamarine and bloodstone:

Aquamarine

Bloodstone

The month of March has long been associated with ‘madness’, which is largely based on the hilarious pre-mating rituals of hares at this time. ‘Boxing hares’ can be seen across the countryside during spring. My first image on this post shows a couple of wicker-built hares at Harlow Carr in Yorkshire doing just that.

Below is a video I found which shows mad March hares in action – part of it in slow motion. It is titled Mad March Hares Boxing and is by Stephen de Vere:

There are several special days celebrated in March and these are just five of them:

Saint David is the patron saint of Wales and his feast day (St.David’s Day) is celebrated on March 1st, the date of his death in 589 AD. David was a Welsh bishop of Mynyw during the 6th century, and was later regarded as a saint. A number of miracles are attributed to him and a white dove (which became his emblem) is said to have settled on his shoulder after one of them.

St. David’s Day celebrations, Cardiff Bay, 2008. Creative Commons

2. In Cornwall, March 5th is St. Piran’s Day. Piran is the patron saint of Cornwall, said to have discovered tin in the county. Saint Piran’s flag is also the flag of Cornwall and it symbolises the discovery of tin in Kernow (Cornwall).

St. Piran’s Day parade in Penzance, Cornwall, 2007.
Public Domain

3. Mothers’ Day in the U.K. can be either March or April as the date varies according to the date of Easter that year. It always falls on the fourth Sunday of Lent. This year it was March 11th – and a pleasant day I had, too. I wrote a post about the history and celebrations of this day three years’ago, which can be found here.

4. Pi Day is something I’d never heard of until this year when blogging friend Joy Pixley from the U.S. kindly mentioned it to me in a comment on my February post. It’s a celebration in the United States and sounds like a fun-filled day. This is how Wikipedia describes it:

Pi Day is an annual celebration of the mathematical constant π (pi). Pi Day is observed on March 14 (3/14 in the month/day date format) since 3, 1, and 4 are the first three significant digits of π. In 2009, the United States House of Representatives supported the designation of Pi Day.

Pi Day has been observed in many ways, including eating pie, throwing pies and discussing the significance of the number π, due to a pun based on the words “pi” and “pie” being homophones in English and the coincidental circular nature of a pie.”

Larry Shaw, the founder of Pi Day, at the Exploratorium in San Francisco. Author Ronhip (Ron Hipschman). Creative Commons

5. Saint Patrick’s Day is on March 17th. Patrick is the patron saint and national apostle of Ireland. He was a 5th century Romano-Christian missionary and is considered responsible for bringing Christianity to Ireland, as well as driving snakes out of the island. His day is celebrated in many countries worldwide, i.e. wherever Irish people travelled to and settled over the years. Green is the colour of the day as it represents the ‘Emerald Isle’.

St Patrick’s Day religious procession in Downpatrick, where Saint Patrick is said to be buried Author: Ardfern Creative Commons

Shamrock : Saint Patrick, Ireland’s patron saint, is said to have used it as a metaphor for the Christian Holy Trinity.

There are many historical events and birthdays in March, but this post is already long enough. However, I can’t finish without quoting this well known saying about March, and contemplating whether it was actually true this year.

March comes in like a lion …

and goes out like a lamb.

There seem to have been lions and lambs wandering about in no particular order this past month. We’ve had some lovely days mixed up with wet and windy and even cold and snowy ones. We’ll just have to wait and see what April brings (tomorrow!).

To really, really, really finish, here are a few more photos taken at Harlow Carr in Yorkshire on March 5th this year. We were amazed by the colourful displays in the flower beds so early in the year – but it was lovely to see, even in the rain.

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I hope to be back on my blog a lot more often very soon. I’ve missed many posts from much loved followers, but so many things have taken my time this past year. I’ll be glad to get back to normality. My next Month-by-Month post will be that last – meaning, I will have done all twelve months. I can only say that I’ve learned a lot myself in doing them. Millie.

It’s early morning and I’m enjoying some peace and quiet before my tribe of six offspring (plus partners and grandchildren) invade for Sunday/Mother’s Day lunch. We tend to spend Mother’s Day here, at our house, because we have the biggest dining table for seating everyone. Besides, I love to cook for them all. I’m also looking forward to receiving my selection of lovely cards, flowers, chocolates and whatever other knick-knacks they decide I might like this year. I’ve never asked it of them, but I sincerely appreciate all that they bring. It’s like Christmas all over again. And to think, my birthday’s less than a month away, too.

Well, today I thought I’d have a think about what Mother’s day actually involves in the U.K. and how it originated. I won’t delve into how the celebration started in the U.S. in 1908 – which, I believe, is celebrated in May. There’ll undoubtedly be plenty of American bloggers to do that when the time comes. The actual term Mother’s Day, which stems from the American celebration, has now been adopted in many parts of the world and is usually celebrated either in March or May.

Here in the U.K. Mother’s Day is celebrated on the fourth Sunday of Lent, so the date varies from year to year, depending on the dates of Lent (in turn dependent upon the date of Easter). It was observed as early as the 16^th Century, when it was known as Mothering Sunday. This was a time when people returned to the ‘mother church’ – the main church or cathedral in the area – for a special service called Laetare. The day was one of relaxation from normal Lenten observations; a day of hope with Easter being at last within sight.

Mothering Sunday was often the only time when the whole families could be together due to conflicting working hours on other days. Children and young people ‘in service’, as household servants, were given the day off to visit their families. Children often picked wild flowers on the way, either to put in church or give to their mothers. So eventually the tradition evolved into the giving of gifts to mothers.

But Mothering Sunday was by no means a new idea, even in the 16^th Century. Celebrations of mothers and motherhood can be traced back to the ancient Greeks and Romans, who held festivals in honour of the mother goddesses Rhea and Cybele.

In the U.K. today, Mothering Sunday is known by the American term of Mother’s Day, as it is in most countries where the Day is celebrated. Many gifts are given to mothers, including the traditional flowers. Chocolates are also still popular, but a variety of other gifts are given as well. Unfortunately, as is to be expected, the cost of flowers rises dramatically as the special day approaches.

Flower_stall_on_Cheapside_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1755212 — Flower stall on Cheapside, London, displaying flowers for sale before Mother’s Day. Wikimedia Common. Attribution: Kate Jewell

In the early days, Mothering Sunday was also known as Refreshment Sunday because the fasting rules for Lent were relaxed for that day. The special food item associated with the Day was Simnel cake – a fruit cake with two layers of almond paste (marzipan) one on top and one in the middle. It is made with eleven balls of marzipan on top, representing the eleven disciples. (Judas is not included.) Traditionally, sugar violets would also be added.

Simnel_cake_(7099859765) — Simnel Cake. Both images: Wikimedia Commons. Attribution: James Petts, London, England.

The name Simnel probably comes from the Latin word simila, referring to a fine wheat flour usually used for baking cakes. A legend has it that a man called Simon and his wife Nell argued over whether the cake for Mothering Sunday should be baked or boiled. In the end they did both, so the cake was named after both of them: SIM-NELL.

This short poem was written in 1648, by Robert Herricks:

I’ll to thee a Simnel bring

’Gainst thou goes a mothering

So that when she blesseth thee

Half that blessing thou’lt give to me

For me, Mother’s Day is also a day when I remember my own mother and the many Mother’s Days we shared. She passed away in 1998 and I still think of her a lot. But especially on Mother’s Day.