March 20 - Holidays and Observances

Holidays and Observances

• Christian Feast Day:
  • Abdon and Sennen, celebrated in Soissons, France
  • Alexandra
  • Blessed John of Parma
  • Cuthbert of Lindisfarne, Missionary, Bishop, 687, patron saint of Northumbria (Anglican Communion)
  • Herbert
  • Wulfram
• Earliest date for the vernal equinox in the Northern hemisphere:
  • Bahá'í Naw-Rúz, started at sunset on March 20. The end of the 19-day sunrise-to-sunset fast. (Bahá'í Faith)
  • Chunfen (China)
  • Earth Day, during its first celebration in 1971. Now celebrated on April 22.
  • New Year (Thelema)
  • Nowruz (Iranian diaspora, Kurdish diaspora, Zoroastrians)
  • Ostara in the northern hemisphere, Mabon in the southern hemisphere. (Neopagan Wheel of the Year)
  • International Astrology Day (astrologers and astrology enthusiasts)
  • Shunbun no Hi, a national holiday in Japan.
  • World Storytelling Day, a global celebration of the art of oral storytelling.
• Earliest day on which Good Friday can fall, while April 23 is the latest; celebrated on Friday before Easter. (Christianity)
• Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Tunisia from France in 1956.
• International Day of the Francophonie (International Organization of the Francophonie)
• UN French Language Day (United Nations)
• World Sparrow Day, to raise public awareness about the decline of sparrows and throw light on the problems they face in their daily fight for survival.