MARCH

     March comes in like a lion (winter) and goes out like a lamb (spring.)   The Northern Hemisphere is beginning to get more hours of daylight and warmer temperatures.  Nature is waking up from a dormant sleep.
     This month, the Irish celebrate St. Patrick and the Italians honor St. Joseph, whose legends include banishing snakes and bringing rain.  In NOLA, we celebrate with parades and food. The Irish throw cabbages and carrots from parade floats.   The Italians also parade, but in addition make altars of baked goods with religious symbolism and give out fava beans as reminders of the crop saved from drought.
     This year, Easter is March 27, and Christians will celebrate all over the world.  Coloring and decorating eggs is a traditional activity.  Parents promise young children that the Easter Bunny will bring baskets of treats.
     The Romans named this month after Mars, the god of war and agriculture, two seemingly opposite endeavors; however, spring improved the conditions for soldiers to fight and farmers to plant.  Let's hope our world reduces the amount of fighting and increases our ability to feed the hungry.   We need to grow peace in our hearts and plant seeds in the earth.  Become less like a lion and more like a lamb.