March feels like it’s full of festivals in Ireland with Engineering Week, World Book Day, International Women’s Day and Seachtain na Gaeilge all happening in the first week or so. And that doesn’t even include St. Patrick’s Day – our national festival! However, March is home to lots of other festivals that you may not know about so if you’re looking to do something a little different, here are a few festivals that might add a splash of colour to your classroom.
Fancy a second Halloween?
The Night of the Witches is a festival that takes place in Catemaco in Mexico. It’s much more about shamans and healers than ghosts and witches and there’s lots of music and celebration. If you missed out on a Halloween celebration because of COVID19, now’s your second chance to get in on the action!
Another Costume Party
If witches aren’t your thing but dressing up is, how about joining the Jewish community in celebrating Purim. Although this year, the festival took place in late February, it generally does land in early March depending on the year (The Jewish calendar is based on the moon and they have a leap month every few years.)
The story of Purim is a good adventure story of good against evil with an heroic queen thrown in, but one of the traditions of Purim is to dress in costume.
Holi
If you’re looking to brighten up your life, look no further than Holi – a major Hindu festival. Holi is the ultimate festival of colours. It is celebrated for two to three days in spring. Hindus believe that spring is full of colours so they throw coloured water and powders on each other.
Cherry Blossom Season
If you’re ever in Japan around the end of March, you’re likely to see thousands of Cherry Blossom Trees in full bloom. There’s even an entire festival centred around it in Kyoto and it’s just beautiful. Get your red and white paint out and mix up lots of pinks and make your very own Sakura Tree prints!