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The Ides of September Are Better
March is not the best month for a party
The Ides of March will soon be upon us. I never knew until recently that every month has Ides, nor that while the Ides do always fall mid-month, some of them are on the 13th rather than the 15th. Thank you, Wikipedia!
The thirteenth?
What a strange day to pick. It probably made more sense on the Roman calendar, but it is what it is, except when it isn’t.
March, May, July, and October are the months that are now stuck at the 15th. Originally the Ides were the day of the first full moon, but maybe people like their festivals more fixed in the calendar. Why some are the 15th, I have no clue.
The Romans celebrated the Ides of March with picnics, drinking, and revelry. No doubt there was a bit of debauchery thrown in. And there was that “Et tu, Brutus?” thing later.
Apparently, they no longer do these particular festivals, though there are plenty of other things to do in Rome during March.
