Today, March 14, is Pi Day and tomorrow is the Ides of March (March 15th,) which was made famous by Shakespeare’s opening words in his play Julius Caesar. The play is not really about Julius Caesar but about the people who assassinated him and their plotting and later misfortunes. Would we ever think about the Ides of March if Shakespeare did not include those words in this popular and ageless play?
March 14th became Pi Day in 1988 as the brainchild of Physicist Larry Shaw, wanting to have some fun with his colleagues. Pi is a mathematical term that is represented by the number 3.141592653589793 and with many more digits afterward. For short, it is 3.14, and March 14 is typically represented by 3/14. A little fun thing. Also, Congress passed a resolution in 2009 proclaiming March 14 to be National Pi Day– some more fun.
While Pi is an important mathematical function, pizza and cake makers and many others adopted this day to run special sales while also having some fun. I do not see anyone having fun with the Ides of March. I guess assassinations are not something to poke fun at.
Having fun is important. Many ordinary things have become overly serious such as conversations about certain prominent political figures, or some of the ways governments try to tax us or even shrinkflation, the phenomenon where the ingredients of many products are reduced while the previous package size is maintained.
Other dates of note are May 4, Star Wars Day, because of the phrase “May the force be with you,” April 1, April Fool’s Day, February 14, St. Valentine’s Day and October 31, Halloween. Valentine’s Day and Halloween had their births as religious days– I am pretty sure very few are aware of that significance. There are many others, and a quick Internet search will yield many more special days on the calendar. Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Independence Day which everyone now refers to as the Fourth of July and Memorial Day which should be a day of remembrance but has become the traditional beginning of the Summer season.
It’s nice to do things that are fun and make people happy and even do some silly things like sending store-bought cards expressing mushy and deep feelings we would be embarrassed to say out loud or dressing up in costumes of fantasy figures with talents we could never duplicate.
Takeaways
So, for Pi Day have fun and for the Ides of March be a little reflective about what you wish for because Brutus, Cassius and the gang got what they wished for, but it did not exactly work out too well for them. Meanwhile, Marc Antony, who wasn’t part of the conspiracy, ended up with Cleopatra, whom he wished for, but that eventually also led him to an unfortunate end.
The takeaways are:
- To be careful about what you wish for; and
- Do not pass up having fun when it arises.
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