As we enter March, and the season of Spring, there are a few important dates to keep in mind here in Terry County!
March 5: Primary Election Day
Tuesday, March 5th is the last day to vote in primary elections! Also, Primary Day in Texas is a part of Super Tuesday where 14 other states will have their (Presidential) primary, which includes, *Alabama, Alaska, *Arkansas, *California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, *North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, & Virginia. (NOTE: the ” * ” stands for states Same date as the primary for other offices (e.g., Congress, Governor, Legislature)
March 10: Daylight savings time!
The practice of Springing Forward was first implemented in the United States under the Standard Time Act of 1918. It was first a wartime measure of saving energy and resources during WWI for seven months that the Sun went down at an earlier time. In the 70’s it was revisited as the States were having an energy crisis. It was from then on that Day Lights Savings Time was observed year-round!
March 11-15: Spring Break
All three Terry County school districts, Brownfield ISD, Meadow ISD, & Wellman-Union CISD will be off the whole week for Spring Break. Spring Break began in the mid-1930s, when a swimming coach from Colgate University took his team down to Fort Lauderdale, Florida for some early training at a brand-new Olympic-size pool. Of course, this idea made a lot of sense with other college swim coaches and soon the spring training migration became an annual tradition for swimmers nationwide. Now Spring Break has become a tradition in western culture from K-12 schools to Colleges.
March 17: Saint Patrick’s Day
St. Patrick’s Day was originally celebrated in Ireland. It was a religious celebration with feasts and services in honor of St. Patrick, a patron Saint for Ireland. Irish immigrants brought over the traditions of observing St. Patrick’s Day, but has since turned into a secular holiday in the United States. Wearing green on this specific holiday is a tradition tied to folklore claiming that leprechauns can’t see green, meaning that you won’t get pinched!
March 19: Spring Season Begins
In 2024, the official first day of spring is Tuesday, March 19. This date marks the vernal equinox. In the Northern Hemisphere, the spring equinox in the Northern Hemisphere (also called the March equinox or vernal equinox across the globe) occurs when the Sun crossesthe celestial equator going south to north. It’s called the “celestial” equator because it’s an imaginary line in the sky above the Earth’s equator. Imagine standing on the equator; the Sun would pass directly overhead on its way north.
Something Noteworthy about Spring: Meteorologists recognize a different date, though. The meteorological first day of spring is the same every year and occurs on March 1. That’s because meteorological seasons are based on monthly temperatures – March, April and May are the three spring months that precede the three warmest months of the year, which make up meteorological summer.
March 31: Easter
This year Resurrection Sunday falls on the last day in March. If you didn’t know, Easter falls on the Sunday after the first full moon after the Spring Equinox. That is why it is on a different date every year. The fun of the Easter Bunny comes from a tradition that stated a rabbit would come lay colorful eggs for all the good children, and it was the job of the children to make a colorful nest, hence why we have Easter baskets, and wait for the bunny to leave little treasures for them to find!
Something Extra for the Month of March!
March Madness
The NCAA Division I men’s basketball tournament, branded as NCAA March Madness and commonly called March Madness, is a single-elimination tournament played in the United States to determine the men’s college basketball national champion of the Division I level in the National Collegiate Athletic Association. Played mostly during March, the tournament will consist of 68 teams, from the 32 Division I Conference Champions and 36 teams that receive an at-large bid. An NCAA selection committee chooses these “at-large” teams and will be announced in a nationally televised event called Selection Sunday.
Here is the schedule for March Madness 2024, which begins with Selection Sunday on March 17, 2024:
Selection Sunday: Sunday, March 17
First Four: March 19-20
First round: March 21-22
Second round: March 23-24
Sweet 16: March 28-29
Elite Eight: March 30-31
Final Four: Saturday, April 6 at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.
NCAA championship game: Monday, April 8 at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.
These are the sites for the men’s tournament in 2024:
