Friday, March 25, 2011

The Madness of March

Gaugeless Hat from Cabin Fever
March is one of those amazing months that is full of a lot of "crazy things." First it begins with St David's Day,  which is celebrated in Wales, a country known for its ties to the ancient Celts, the Druids and other mysterious "things."  March 1 is followed closely by, this year anyway, Pancake Tuesday, March 8. Actually some places really go to town and celebrate the eve of Lent with full blown Mardi Gras celebrations - nothing as flat as pancakes!

Next there is March 14 - Pi day, a celebration of infinity, it certainly can't end here. March 15 is the Ides of March.  Really just an innocuous marking of the middle of the month in Roman times; but a day that has gained infamy by being the day on which the Roman Emperor, Julius Ceasar was murdered. In fact, we may have forgotten this event altogether had Shakespeare not made the date almost immortal by including it as a prophecy in his play Julius Cesar.

There is, of course, major craziness as the world celebrates St. Patrick's Day! - with everything green, including the beer on March 17!

Jester Hats from Fiber Trends
Somewhere around March 21, we celebrate the Vernal Equinox. The re-awakening of the earth, immortalized by the somewhat "mad" poet, Dylan Thomas, in the line - "the force that through the green fuse drives the flower."

Most of March falls under the astrological sign of Pisces, which tends to be a mystical sign given to otherworldliness and perhaps its related madness. We also can't escape the fact that Houdini's birthday is March 24 - try to get out of that one!
Chunky Cabled Brioche from Le Tissier

This year's March is also marked by the death of Elizabeth Taylor, a star, who drove men mad, especially Richard Burton. The two were first married on March 15, 1964. If passion is a form of madness then their love affair had to be insanity! I have always had difficulty separating the personae of Dylan Thomas and Richard Burton. In fact either could be, to me, the personification of "the force that through the green fuse drives the flower."

Oh, yes and I believe that March Madness has something to do with sports. :)

The pictures are of knitted hats - to mask the madness!!

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