Welcome to Carrots! I'm so glad you're here. This is where I share thoughts on liturgical living, faith, parenting, culture, and an extra dose of Jane Austen. You can sign up for my email newsletter here to stay in touch, or look me up on Instagram!
Ok, folks, I know I’m really late on getting this one out there, sorry! BUT, we were sick last week, our house is on the market, and my baby godson and his twin are in the process of being born (!!) while we watch their five siblings sooooooo……excuses. I got ’em. I mean, adding an extra five kids to your household should get you out of most anything, right? Ok, on to the good stuff!
I’m always trying to figure out how to make it easier for families to observe the Christian Year because we felt so overwhelmed when we first started that journey (which is why we wrote the book we wish we had then). I thought it might be helpful for our family to have resources compiled for the month ahead so that we can plan in advance which special saints days we want to observe and I hope having them all in one place is helpful to you, too!
And I pinned all of the following resources on a March Liturgical Year board on pinterest for your convenience!
As always, remember not to get overwhelmed. You don’t have to observe every saints day! (We certainly don’t at our house.) The liturgical year is a gift. It shouldn’t feel like a burden!
March 3rd: St. Katharine Drexel
Food/Activities for Celebrating:
- Three Sisters Stew: Catholic Cuisine
Coloring Page: Catholic Printables Online
March 4th: St. Casimir
Food/Activities for Celebrating:
- Make some Polish dishes for this Polish saint such as this Polish Honey Cake: Food Network
Coloring Page: Catholic Playground
March 7th: Sts. Perpetua and Felicity
About the Saints:
- Memorial of Sts. Perpetua and Felicity, martys: Catholic Culture
Coloring Page: Catholic Playground
March 8th: St. John of God
St. John of God is my husband Daniel‘s confirmation saint!
Food/Activities for Celebrating:
- Have a pomegranate feast (St. John of God ministered in Granada, which means pomegranate.)
- Sweet Potato and Pomegranate Salad: Two Peas and Their Pod
- Honey Mousse with Pomegranate: Laylita’s Recipes
March 17th: St. Patrick
Books:
Patrick: Patron Saint of Ireland by Tomie dePaola (dePaola is our favorite childrens book author/illustrator!)
The Story of St. Patrick by James Janda
Saint Patrick and the Peddler by Margaret Hodges
Food/Activities for Celebrating:
- Slow Cooker Corn Beef and Cabbage: All Recipes
- Celebrating the Feast of St. Patrick: Two Os Plus More
- Gluten Free Irish Soda Bread Muffins: King Arthur Flour
March 18th: St. Cyril of Jerusalem
About the saint:
- Memorial of St. Cyril of Jerusalem, bishop, confessor, doctor: Catholic Culture
March 19th: St. Joseph
Book:
Song of the Swallows by Leo Politi (The swallows always return to the Mission San Juan Capistrano on St. Joseph’s Day. Beautiful story.)
Food/Activities to Celebrate:
- Making a Simple St. Joseph’s Day Altar: Carrots for Michaelmas
- The Feast of St. Joseph: Two Os Plus More
March 23rd: St. Turibius of Mongrovejo
Food/Activities for Celebrating:
- Make a Peruvian dish for this saint who served as a missionary in Peru. (We share our simple Lomo Saltado recipe in Feast!)
March 25th: The Annunciation of the Lord
Food/Activities for Celebrating:
- 12 Simple Ways to Celebrate the Annunciation: Better Than Eden
- Waffles for Dinner for the Feast of the Annunciation: Catholic All Year
- On the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord: Three Sided Wheel
Please feel free to share any resources or ideas for observing the liturgical year during March in the comments!
We share some of our favorite recipes for observing the Christian Year in our book Feast! and our new book More Feasts!
(Links to Amazon are affiliate links. Thank you for supporting Carrots!)
I loooooove these posts, they are my very favorite. I was just telling my mom about waffles for the Annunciation and since I”ll be teaching Confirmation that night I think our class snack for the evening will have to be waffles. Thanks for this post, Haley!
Oh good! Glad to hear it, Willow
I think we’ll just get around to celebrating St. Patrick (my husband’s name day) and St. Joseph (our family’s patron) and the Annunciation this year. Thank you for the resources! I think you posted the Three Sisters Stew link last year for St. Katherine Drexel because I remember making it then. Forgot this year, oh well! St. Katherine, please pray for us anyway!
Hey, that sounds like plenty to me
Pomegranates are one of the best things to ever happen to mankind. Pomegranates and feta cheese.
The Starving Inspired
Agreed.
One of my favorite poems by one of my favorite poets is based on Cestello’s Annunciation, and I revisit it this time of year:
https://books.google.com/books?id=ceGIff3PgaMC&pg=PA102&lpg=PA102&dq=Cestello+annunciation+andrew+hudgins&source=bl&ots=Qwb2Il2_-_&sig=j7yQSFtA_SZqwmnjos0qmo1dNy4&hl=en&sa=X&ei=7j37VIzjMOTHsQT-woDACg&ved=0CF4Q6AEwDg#v=onepage&q=Cestello%20annunciation%20andrew%20hudgins&f=false
Thanks for sharing these links! I love celebrating St. Joseph’s Day–Joseph is my husband’s name, plus I’m half Sicilian… so this one is more fun for me than St. Patrick’s Day! Here’s what we did last year: http://bellavitadolce.com/2014/03/st-josephs-day-sfinge.html
I just pinned your post. Extra step, or extra lazy? I can’t figure it out, I need coffee!
I just pinned your post rather than bother with your board of pins. Extra step, or extra lazy? I can’t figure it out, I need coffee!
We just celebrated the feast of St. Katharine Drexel (my name-day!) with stuffed acorn squash and blueberry cobbler. We’re doing a St. Patrick’s Day potluck brunch with our church’s moms & kids group, and we’ll do … something … for St. Joseph’s feast day! I love the idea of waffles for the Annunciation too.
All of these feast days are a much-needed bright spot during this loooooong winter! Thanks for all your ideas!