Pinch me, its March!

Pinch me, its March! World of Liberty loves the month of March for 2 reasons. Everyone wears green in honor of Irish Heritage and it’s Women’s History month. You know what that means…lots of celebrating, parades, and learning about strong women. Some of our favorite things.

Top o’ the month to you lass and lad. Just getting into the Irish spirit. Every year, on March 17th, we turn everything green in honor of St. Patrick’s Day, or you’ll get pinched. But did you ever wonder why all the pinching? Legend has it that wearing green on this day made you invisible to leprechauns so they couldn’t pinch you because they couldn’t see you. The leprechauns are sneaky little guys from Irish folklore, full of mischief and always looking to rile things up. Although, centuries ago the only ones wearing green were Catholics. Most people took on wearing green in America to represent their love of the Irish and to honor Saint Patrick on the date marking his death, March 17th.

Saint Patrick is known for bringing Christianity to Ireland. It has been said that he used the shamrock to teach the Holy Trinity to the Irish, each leaf representing a different entity of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. So now you know why we wear green and the shamrock’s role in all of it. Pretty neat right?

Over 35 million Americans list “Irish” as their heritage according to the US Census, while Ireland’s actual population is around 4.8 million. That means there’s more Irish people in America than there are in Ireland! So you better believe we are going to celebrate the Emerald Isle in style, and what better way to do so than with a parade. Let’s dye a river green while we’re at it.

Every year in Chicago the St. Patrick’s Day parade starts with the dyeing of the river. This happens on a Saturday whether or not St. Patrick’s Day is actually on a Saturday. This year it
will be on March 12th the Saturday before St. Patrick’s Day. But Chicago isn’t the only city to throw a big parade, most big cities across America have one. The top 5 big ones for your bucket list are New York (the biggest parade around), Chicago, Boston (the longest running parade), Savannah, and Kansas City in Missouri. So don’t forget to wear your green and celebrate on the 17th, the day where we’re ALL Irish!

March also happens to be Women’s History month. Did you know the President has to make a formal proclamation to Congress for a group to be celebrated for a whole month? That’s a great achievement for women to be recognized for their heroic, amazing efforts and accomplishments in history.

One of our favorite women in history has to be the great adventurer, Amelia Earhart. She is highly regarded as a woman who broke down the walls of tradition and blazed a trail all her own. Imagine a world where it was unheard of for a woman to be a passenger in an airplane, not to mention flying an airplane on her own. Amelia had a passion for aviation and went after her dreams, setting record after record. People took notice of her bravery and she became a sought after aviator, lecturer, and writer.

Amelia Earhart’s last flight was her most ambitious endeavor, a flight around the world. As the story goes, she never made it to the final destination and her disappearance remains a mystery. In her short time on Earth, Amelia broke down barriers for women in the work force as well as provided inspiration for all women that wish to fulfill their dreams, whatever they might be. We at World of Liberty believe she is truly a heroine to be remembered this month.

Another significant woman in history, was Frida Kahlo, a talented artist from Mexico. She was most known for her self taught ability to depict her pain and culture in self portraits. After a bus accident, Frida suffered injuries that would plague her for the rest of her life, requiring 35 operations. In her time of solace, she honed her skills and became well known for her spirit of feminism. Always controversial, Frida never strayed from her passion or let anyone change her. It’s a great lesson to be learned these days. Stay focused on being who you are, find the best way to show others what makes you unique and you will inspire the world.

That’s what Women’s History month is all about. Learning about the past to inspire a better future. Perhaps your school will be one of the lucky ones to enlist a woman performer to come tell the story of one of our many brilliant women of history.

We hope you feel inspired to seek out other courageous women throughout history that left their mark. There’s always a chance you might follow in one of their bold footsteps. Enjoy your lucky March full of heritage and history.