As springs edges closer, celebrate these homestead holidays in March. These March holidays are specifically chosen because of their relevance to homestead families and the homesteading lifestyle. Tie the work and chores of this DIY lifestyle to the celebratory days happening this month. Combine work with joy and have some fun! 
More Holidays for Other Months:
Homestead Holidays in February
Holidays in January for Homesteaders
Homestead Holidays in December
I really believe that all work and no play makes a dull homestead family! However, the chores need to be done and we only have so much time.
The solution in my family has been to tie our homesteading life with a little fun around the calendar year. I believe in this principle so much that I wrote a whole book on the topic called Homestead Holidays!
Grab your own copy below if you’d like information, crafts, recipes, and even homesteading chores tied to the seasons and celebrations.
Homestead Holidays in March
If you’ve ever read any of these monthly articles, then you know that we always separate our homestead holidays in two catergories:
- National Days of Celebration
- Worldwide & Religious Holidays
Just a reminder that there are a lot of other days to celebrate and I encourage you to do some research (and/or pick up our book). However, I’ll only highlight the homestead holidays in March that my family celebrates because they integrate easily into our DIY lifestyle.
If we’re going to take time to celebrate and relax together, it needs to include materials and activities that we’re already doing or are easy to work into our day.
National Holidays in March
Even if you are a reader who lives outside of the U.S., I encourage you to try some of these fun ideas. I also encourage you to nose around your internet to see if your country has similar national days of fun!
Johnny Appleseed Day
On March 11th, take a minute to stop and learn about Johnny Appleseed, aka John Chapman. Chapman spent 46 years traveling around the then western territories of Ohio, Illinois, Michingan and other areas that would eventually become states.
Carrying his Bible and living simply, he established apple orchards in these areas, encouraging homesteading and the growing of useful plants. There’s a lot of American folklore that’s grown up around this historical figure, but in amongst all the myth and fact, the apples remain!
Maybe the American’s love of planting apple trees comes from our close ties to England, where growing apple trees is like a national trust. Whatever the reason, apples are a great fruit tree to begin even a small family orchard.
Apple trees:
- draw pollinators
- provide shade for wildlife
- shed leaves for compost in the fall
- produce delicious fruit
- have deep roots to keep water and nutrients in the soil
The best way to plant a fruit tree in my experience is to create a fruit tree guild (in permaculture parlance), or plant it with useful companion plants. Please read the article below to learn more.
By the way, this article comes with a free, printable resource for newsletter subscribers.
–>> How to Plant an Apple Fruit Tree Guild<<–
Apple Recipes for Inspiration to Plant
Planting fruit trees is a lot of work and then you need to wait a few years for fruit. So, here are a few recipes to inspire you to make the effort!
Long Ferment Sourdough Apple Cinnamon Rolls
Sandwich Cookies with Apple Frosting
DIY Pomanders: Clove Oranges & Apples
Wassail Apple Cider Marshmallows
Plant a Flower & Learn About Butterflies
I like to combine national days, especially when I’m creating a homeschool unit study or even just a short lesson. On March 12th we celebrate Plant a Flower Day and on March 14th, we celebrate Learn About Butterflies Day.
Early spring is a great time to start making plans for the flower garden, even if you’re still under a few feet of snow. It’s also a great time to teach kids and grandkids about the importance of pollinators like honey bees in our food system.
- Honey bees aren’t the only pollinators (although, they might be the most efficient); flies, moths, and butterflies all pollinate flowers.
- Teaching children about pollinators will help them appreciate them and encourage them in the garden instead of being afraid of them or harming them.
How to Celebrate Bees & Flowers
I’m a hands-on homeschool mom, so my suggestions for celebrating these days include:
Learn to winter sow flower and herbs seeds (yes, you can do this if you have snow still!), and then plant a few boxes. This process is simple if you’ve ever planted a seed before, but even if you haven’t, planting seeds is very straightforward.
–>>Learn the basics of winter sowing (or planting seeds outdoors in containers during the dormant season). 
If you’re ready for it, your next project could be to get set up to keep bees this year! A beehive or two becomes and amazing classroom and family project for the homestead.
It is a commitment, though, so if you’re not ready for that, try making a mason bee house to encourage these non-stinging pollinators. 
You can also get started making pollinator garden plans, including the best herbs for bees (or moths, butterflies, etc.).
–>>Though it can be invasive in some climates and requires a firm hand with deadheading blooms, an easy plant to begin a butterfly garden with is a Butterfly Bush!
More Flower Resources
If you’re looking for a smaller projec to fill a happy hour, try these:
Forshythia Dandelion Jelly (Tastes like sunshine!)
How to Make Pressed Flower Bookmarks
Make Flower Crowns (Daisies, Calendula, Chamomile – Whatever is Blooming)
If you want a more formal learning environment, try my friend Janet’s Natural Dyes on Wool eCourse. This is the course I bought for my kids and I to use and it’s worth every penny. Janet includes flower dyes along with other natural materials like lichen and berries.
Last Few National Holidays in March of Note
March 19th is Get Out in the Backyard Day as well as Poultry Day.
- As a homesteader, I strongly encourage you to start keeping backyard chickens, if you haven’t already.
If you already have backyard chickens consider the following poultry to add to the homestead:
Raising Ducks for Meat & Eggs on the Homestead
When you’re raising livestock, it can be handy to know which weeds are edible and even grow them on purpose to offset the cost of feed. Fortunately, March 28th is Weed Appreciation Day, so you’ll have a reason to study up!
- Practical Self Reliance can teach you pretty much everything you need to know about edible weeds – you’re going to love her site!
While you and the kids are gathering ideas for projects from chickens to weeds, celebrate Pita Day on March 29th. Here’s our long-ferment, sourdough pita bread recipe for you – eat them hot with lots of butter or stuff them with sandwich fixings!
Inernational & Religious Holidays in March
Many of these will be familiar to you and perhaps you already have favorite traditions surrounding them that you can share with other readers in our comments section. Please share!
Ash Wednesday
Mardi Gras, also known as Fat Tuesday, is the day before the official start of the Lenten and Easter season on Ash Wednesday.
- It’s common for Catholics and other Christian sects to go without something like food or drink during the forty days before Easter, the period called Lent.
Other religious cultures do this too, as with the Muslims and their Ramadan month-long fast! Going without favorite foods and drinks, or eschewing eating and drinking altogether for a time, can produce a lot of wonderful benefits.
- When fasting, we learn to appreciate the daily food we eat and the hard work that provides it.
- Going without also gives us compassion for those who are chronically underfed, malnourished, or starving.
- This can prompt us to be generous with donations of food, cash, or time to places like soup kitchens, congregational welfare centers, and other societies that serve the underfed.
- We and our children are less likely to waste food in the kitchen or restaurants if we’ve learned to appreciate that hungry feeling.
To learn more about fast and feast days in various world religious traditions and how those might translate into our homestead family, grab your copy of Homestead Holidayss – there’s a whole section on this topic!
Back to Pancake Day/Fat Tuesday
Since common foods given up during Lent have historically included butter and eggs, it became customary to use up all these fats the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday (when Lent begins). There are so many foods you can make with an abundance of butter and eggs, but a favorite has got to be pancakes!
We officially celebrate Pancake Day as a family (and eschew the rather raucus customs that have developed around Fat Tuesday) by making as many different kinds of pancakes as we can. I’ll list some favorites below, but bottom line, you MUST celebrate this holiday with your family.
Pancakes for dinner?! Yes, please!
Nut Free Buckwheat Sourdough Crunch Pancakes
Gluten Free Crepes (French Pancakes)
Sourdough Yorkshire Pudding (American Popovers – sort of like a pancake that looks like an egg muffin)
Our absolute favorite pancake for this celebration is our sourdough Ebelskiver pancakes which are round and soft and delicious!
St Patrick’s Day Foods & Fun
Everyone’s Irish once a year on March 17th! It’s a good thing, too, because this is culture rich with history, food, and fun. Though the Irish-American story has its ups and down, today we focus on the amazing heritage that we enjoy in the U.S. from our Irish heritage.
Here are some healthy recipes to celebrate the day if you’re trying to go with homemade versions of classic Irish dishes.
Traditional Irish Beef Stew (slow cooker recipe)
Sweet & Savory Irish Soda Bread (golden or redhead)
Peppermint & Chocolate Marshmallows
Probably our favorite tradition for this day is that of setting a leprechaun trap. We’ve never actually caught one, but he always leaves a few chocolate gold coins just to show there are no hard feelings. Never heard of a leprechaun trap?
- This Mama Loves can show you how to make a leprechaun trap akin to the ones we’ve made in the past, although ours are covered in florist’s foil to make them green.
Spring Equinox
March 20th marks the spring equinox, the official first day of spring when all our vernal dreams can start rolling out. Depending on where Easter falls on the calendar in the year, you could very combine your equinox celebrations with your Easter decorating and baking.
Some years I have more involved celebrations for the changing of the seasons – a May Day party or a Yule log bonfire. Some years our celebrations are quick and to the point. Here are a few ideas to help you get into the fun of the first day of spring, or simply the spring season overall!
20+ Wild Spring Plants to Forage
When to Start Seeds: Your Guide to Spring Seed Starting
Holi – Festival of Color!
Holi is the Indian festival of spring inspired by a story from Hinud legend (we tell the whole story in Homestead Holidays, FYI). Here’s a little more about Holi from Homestead Holidays,
“As with most spring festivals around the world, Holi signifies the victory of good over evil, the return of the light, and the slaying of winter by spring’s lush beginning. It’s a time to give thanks for the coming harvests, heal old wounds and enjoy each other’s company. The more spiritual aspects of Holi begin the night before with the Holika Dahan. During this ritual families gather in front of a bonfire, praying that their sins be destroyed…
The next morning is celebrated as Holi, which is a free-for-all festival of colors that transcends class, caste, wealth, education, gender, and even age. No special puja (POO-ja), or worship, is performed this day; it’s simply a time for fun and frolic when people smear each other with colors, called gulal, and drench each other with water.
The color explosion takes place anywhere and everywhere–parks, temples, and open streets! There’s usually music in the background, along with singing and dancing for all. By evening, the party atmosphere has hopefully died down enough for you to get cleaned up and go visit family and friends.”
If you feel like a bit of whimsy this spring, plan a family and friends Holi celebration with color throwing, crafts, activities, and foods. Homestead Holidays can help with that, especially if you’d like to DIY a few items.
The book has a whole section on how to make your own plant-based colors to celebrate Holi wherever you live. To get you started, we’re sharing our simple recipe for Kum Kum Powder, which is a popular homemade pigment create from turmeric.
Homemade Kum Kum Powder Recipe for Holi
If you’d like to try a Holi celebration wherever you are in the world, I suggest you try to find natural, plant-based pigments to throw or add to water. Many of the cheaper Holi colors are sold with dubious chemical combinations. However, you can make your own from various herbs and other natural materials.
Get started with this simple Indian DIY Kum Kum powder made with turmeric and baking soda. Super easy!
Kum Kum Powder
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp. Turmeric Powder
- 1 Tbsp. Baking Soda
- Juice from 1 Lemon
- 1 tsp. Water, if needed
Instructions
- Mix 2 Tbsp. of turmeric powder with 1 Tbsp. of baking soda* in a shallow dish.
- Add the juice of one lemon and mix it in with your fingers.
- You may add a few drops of water if needed to get the components thoroughly mixed. You will notice the color begin to go from bright yellow to a burnt orange color.
- Dry on a screen and then use at Holi. Store in an air-tight container.
Notes
What are your favorite holidays to celebrate in March? If you’d care to share, simply comment below! Happy March!
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