Month's Heading: March, the Stormy Time of the Britons

The unstable month of March, time of violent storms, melting snows and incipient, fragile blossoms (this looks SO much like one of those essays one had to write for English class at Secondary school - I'm awful, I know! :-D) is a time of transition that seems to forcibly push the silent slumber of Winter to the furious explosion of life that takes place during the Spring. Its crazy weather is the reason behind the saying that claims that March 'comes like a lion and goes like a lamb', and is probably the reason why the Britons called it hyld-monath, the Loud Month!. And it's true! After the Spring equinox, the storms are more infrequent (theoretically, ahem :-S) and things mellow out.



Originally the first month of the year, March was named after Mars, who originally had nothing to do at all with war and destruction, but was an Etruscan deity of life, fertility and vegetation. From there, he went on to become a protector of fields and crops. Thanks to that, he became associated with Ares, the Greek god of brutal war (with a lot of imagination, I guess). However, Mars, unlike Ares in Greece, had a very prominent role in the pantheon, since he was seen as the 'divine' defense against military enemies and the supplier of grains and vegetables, the staples of Roman diet. Food and war - isn't that the most perfect combination you've ever heard of? ;-P However, this god's importance is attested by the fact that six festivals were held in his honour throughout the year - four of them taking place in yep, you guessed it, March!



As said above, March was the first month of the year even after Numa Pompilius added January and February to the calendar - in fact, it kept its prominent role for 250 years, until the time of the decemvirs, when the State decided to stick completely to the Solar calendar (451 BC). Still, many parts of the world weren't so willing to change things, and some countries stubbornly refused to adopt this arrangement. In Russia, the new year began in March 1st up to the 15th century, and England and its colonies kept things in the same way up to 1752! Wow, talk about being pig-headed! (I'm only joking ;-)).



Well, here's when I stop boring you! I am presenting you with one of my favourite songs, sung by my favourite singer ever, legendary Italian diva Mina Mazzini!!!! I Giardini Di Marzo is an exceptionally beautiful ballad that talks about a young man's feeling of estrangement and desolation during the first days of Spring, when he realizes that he's immersed in a disfunctional relationship and doesn't enjoy his life at all... A bit depressing, but then again, its songwriters Lucio Battisti and Mogol (the greatest songwriting team in Italy in the 20th century) had a penchant for creating sad songs. It was a MASSIVE hit in Italy during the Spring of 1974, and has become one of those 'indispensable' timeless classics that every singer worth their salt has to cover at one time or another.

I Giardini Di Marzo/The Gardens of March

Enjoy the arrival of Spring!!!!! :-D