Aren't we lucky?
March is a wonderful month because we can celebrate Women’s Day and also St. Patrick’s Day in very simple, interesting and fun ways while learning English!
Although Women’s Day can be controversial for some people, because, shouldn’t we celebrate any particular gender every day? Why is one specific day necessary? Well, there is a point there, but in that case, we would not celebrate Mother’s Day or Father’s Day or Valentine’s Day or St. Jordi or any other special day in which we pause and reflect on one thing. Our attention can be so divided nowadays that it is helpful to us to mark specific days in which we deeply reflect on one particular aspect of our lives.
Women’s Day celebrates women and their past and present contributions to society even in the face of contexts that have challenged them due to their gender. St. Patrick’s Day (St. Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland), although originally an Irish holiday that celebrates Irish heritage and culture, it is widely celebrated in English-speaking countries due to the spread of popular culture and all the colorful and fun aspects of this day, such as: wearing green for good luck (green allegedly makes you invisible to mythical leprechauns who like to pinch everyone they can see), four-leaf clovers, pots of gold at the end of a rainbow, etc.
Even though many reflections connected to ¨special days¨ that we celebrate throughout the year can be full of fun and special moments, some reflections may also not always be easy, sometimes they may even take us out of our comfort zone. However, that is the point of reflecting—critical thinking usually takes us to a better place than where we were at the moment of our reflection.
What I hope you get out of this article are some new expressions to celebrate and reflect on these two special days in March! Additionally, I will recommend some English-language films and series that you can watch this month for reflection, learning and fun!
Women’s Day (March 8th)
Expressions:
¨To stand up for¨ means to defend and fight for. Something you can say is:
¨Thank you for standing up for those who need it the most.¨
¨To make one’s way (in)¨ means to move forward in a particularly difficult environment. A phrase you can say is:
¨I am really proud of how you have made your way in business, even while facing tough competition and under difficult circumstances!¨
A film and a series:
Mona Lisa Smile – An American romance/drama film about a female professor who challenges the views of femininity of the institution where she goes to work and all those who are a part of it, as well as those who surround her. It is truly well-made with a cast of top-of-the-line actors and it has a very surprising and interesting ending!
Anne with an E – A wonderful, Canadian Netflix series about a girl who is an orphan and is adopted by mistake–the family truly wanted to adopt a boy. She changes that family and a whole town and they provoke some changes in her, too! It is based on Lucy Maud Montgomery’s famous book Anne of Green Gables.
St. Patrick’s Day (March 17th)
Expressions about luck:
¨To be on a lucky streak¨ means to be on a period of continual luck! For example, you might say:
¨Last week, I won all my basketball games and I have won all my basketball games this week also! I am on a lucky streak!¨
¨Beginner’s luck¨ refers to luck that is experienced by someone doing something for the first time and doing it unbelievably well.
For example: ¨It is Marta’s first time picking up a baseball bat and she just hit a home run! It must be beginner’s luck!¨
A film:
Rudy– An American drama film about a young man’s quest to be part of The Fighting Irish American football team at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana, U.S.A despite the physical, psychological and economic challenges that he must be able to surmount in order to achieve that dream.
Enjoy!
