![four leaf clovers in a bunch growing on the ground](https://www.uc.edu/news/articles/2023/03/n21156388/jcr:content/image.img.cq5dam.thumbnail.500.500.jpg/1679320977077.jpg)
March is a month associated with both good and bad luck
Two happenings in March explained by UC’s popular culture expert Rebecca Borah
St. Patrick’s Day isn’t the only good or bad luck filled day in March. There is also “The Ides of March,” which – for the superstitious – can bring calamity. The Ides of March is the 74th day in the Roman calendar, corresponding to 15 March.
The “Ides” are a day in the middle of the month when the moon is full. Although a full moon happens four times during a calendar year, the month of March gained significance because it is the month associated with the assassination of Julius Caesar, a Roman Emperor murdered by a group of nobles in the Senate House on March 15, 44 BC.
“When 60 of your closest friends gang up on you like that and you get stabbed by 23 or more, it does not bode well,” that Caesar didn’t pay attention when warned that March 15 was not going to be a good day for him, says Rebecca Borah, a professor in UC’s Department of English who researches myths, legends and lore.
It’s not that the day actually brings bad luck, she says, but that people have a heightened awareness and may attribute bad things that do happen that day in March.
“But he (Caesar) was warned,” Borah joked in a Spectrum News interview about the superstition.
Another superstition she pointed to is the wearing of green on St. Patrick’s Day. If it so happens that you remember to wear green, you don’t get pinched. “If you are wearing green, then you get to pinch them back,” she jokes.
The St. Patty’s holiday surrounds the feast of St. Patrick, which is a Catholic observation.
There are many traditions, myths and lore surrounding the holiday, and Borah made the media rounds to explain the origins of the traditions.
Featured image courtesy of Unsplash.
Impact Lives Here
The University of Cincinnati is leading public urban universities into a new era of innovation and impact. Our faculty, staff and students are saving lives, changing outcomes and bending the future in our city's direction. Next Lives Here.
Related Stories
March is a month associated with both good and bad luck
March 20, 2023
The month of March holds space for both St. Patrick's Day and The Ides of March. These two events are associated with both good and bad luck, as explained by Rebecca Borah who researches popular culture and the traditions associated with myths, legends, lore and truths.
WVXU: It's Friday the 13th. Do you suffer from 'triskaidekaphobia'?
January 13, 2023
UC folklore and superstitions expert Rebecca Borah cited in multiple media outlets for her take on how Friday the 13th instills fear in some, and not others. The date occurs twice in 2023 and has fear based roots dating to the 1800s.
Psychology Today: Why Do People With Anxiety Love Halloween?
November 1, 2022
UC Department of English faculty Gary Vaughn cited as an expert in Psychology Today for an article on why people with anxiety love Halloween. The article gives seven reasons for this theory, with Vaughn speaking to modern horror stories.
Cincinnati Magazine: Write here, write now
August 11, 2023
UC is a base for two well known literary publications: Cincinnati Review and Short Vine. Both are featured in an article in Cincinnati Magazine highlighting the impact local publications make in the literary world.
Spectrum News: Explaining the significance of Leap Year
March 5, 2024
Leap Year only comes around every four years, but when it does it sets the calendar and seasons in alignment, says Rebecca Borah, UC professor of English who appeared in a Spectrum News segment on the topic.
WVXU: Test your word puzzle skills with a Cincinnati Edition-themed Hink Pink
April 18, 2024
Cincinnati edition host Lucy May discusses the history and new found popularity of word games with Michael Griffith, professor English. Griffith is a writer, but also develops word games for publication.
USA Today: Opinion: When COVID-19 and religious freedom intersect
December 14, 2020
Andrew Lewis, a UC associate professor of political science, co-author of opinion piece on politics and religion in USA TODAY.
The Times of Israel: Is that (still) funny? Scholar explores generational shifts in Jewish humor
March 9, 2023
Jenny Caplan joined UC in the Fall of 2022. as an assistant professor; and her first book is now receiving international recognition. The book, " “Funny, You Don’t Look Funny: Judaism and Humor from the Silent Generation to Millennials," traces attitudes toward American Jewish comedy over the decades.
Grad students earn president's highest honor
April 28, 2021
The University of Cincinnati 2021 Presidential Medal of Graduate Student Excellence Awards honor three graduate scholars for scholarship, leadership, character, service and the ideals of the university. Awardees are spotlighted for exceptional academics, creativity, community service and innovation.
Spectrum News: University efforts more inclusion, diversity, honors first Black graduates
February 27, 2023
Spectrum News interviews associate dean Littisha Bates for Black History Month article. The article centers around a recent memorial erected on UC's campus that honors the university's Black students, to include Alice Easton.