Holidays Calendar for March 5, 2020
Custom Chiefs' Day is a public holiday in the Republic of Vanuatu. It is celebrated annually on March 5.
On March 5, the citizens of French Polynesia celebrate Gospel Day, also referred to as Missionary Day. It is a public holiday in this overseas collectivity of France.
St. Piran’s Day (Gool Peran) is the national day of Cornwall, a ceremonial county in South West England. It is celebrated annually on March 5. The observance is named after Saint Piran, a patron saint of Corwall, who is also considered the patron saint of tin miners.
World Energy Efficiency Day is celebrated annually on March 5. It was created to raise global awareness about the need to make our energy consumption more efficient and transition to sustainable energy sources.
International CVS Awareness Day is observed annually on March 5 to raise awareness of cyclic vomiting syndrome, a chronic condition with an unknown cause characterized by acute episodes of vomiting that may last from a few hours to several weeks.
Dissociative Identity Disorder Awareness Day, also known as DID Awareness Day, is observed annually on March 5 to raise awareness of a psychiatric disorder that is surrounded by myths and misconceptions.
On March 5, Azerbaijan celebrates a national observance known as Day of Physical Culture and Sport. It was proclaimed in 2005 by President Ilham Aliyev.
March 5 is Judiciary Employee Day in Kyrgyzstan. It is an official professional holiday in the Kyrgyz Republic that was established on May 26, 2004, and has been celebrated annually since 2005.
On March 5, all media professionals in Thailand celebrate their professional holiday, National Journalist Day (Wan Nakkhao), also known as National Mass Media Day. It was established to commemorate the foundation anniversary of the Reporters’ Association of Thailand.
Iran, as well as many other countries around the world, celebrates National Tree Planting Day. This observance annually falls on March 5.
Charity Day is an official observance in the Islamic Republic of Iran held on 14 Esfand in the Iranian calendar (March 5 in the Gregorian calendar). It was created to commemorate the anniversary of the establishment of the Imam Khomeini Relief Foundation.
Kalpak Day, also known as Ak Kalpak Day, is a Kyrgyz holiday observed on March 5. It celebrates kalpak, a high-crowned hat which is considered the national headdress of the Kygryz people. The holiday was first celebrated in 2011, and received official status in 2016.
On the first Thursday in March, the United Kingdom and Ireland hold their own World Book Day. It is the local manifestation of World Book and Copyright Day celebrated annually on April 23.
On March 5, the Chinese celebrate Learn from Lei Feng Day. It is a propagandist holiday whose importance has been gradually declining over the recent years.
1991 Rebellion Anniversary is an official remembrance day in Iraqi Kurdistan, the only autonomous region of Iraq. It commemorates a series of popular rebellions that occurred in northern and southern Iraq in spring 1991, following the ceasefire of the Gulf War.
Panchayati Raj Day (also known as Panchayati Raj Divas or Local Self-Government Day) is an official holiday in the Indian state of Odisha, celebrated on March 5. It commemorates the birthday of Biju Patnaik, a well-known Indian aviator, entrepreneur, and politician who served twice as the Chief Minister of Odisha.
They are crunchy, orange and tasty. They can come in many different shapes. They are cheese doodles, that we love. Celebrate National Cheese Doodle Day on March 5.
The unofficial National Absinthe Day in the United States is celebrated on March 5. It is dedicated to one of the strongest and most unusual liquors in the world, which is often referred to as “the Green Fairy” due to its color.
Poutine is a signature dish of Québécois cuisine that emerged in the 1950s and has become truly iconic since then. Some might even go as far as to call it the national dish of Canada, although most Quebeckers would probably consider it cultural appropriation. Given the popularity of poutine, it is not surprising that the dish has not one, but two holidays dedicated to it: National Poutine Day is celebrated on March 5 and then again on April 11.
The International Day for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Awareness is observed annually on March 5. It was established by the United Nations General Assembly to promote better understanding of disarmament among the general audience, with a special emphasis on raising disarmament awareness among young people.
Scouts’ Day, also known as Chinese Scout Day, is celebrated in the Republic of China (Taiwan) on March 5 every year. It commemorates the founding of Boy Scouts of China in Guangzhou on this day in 1916.
Festivals on March 5, 2020
- Moscow Boat Show in Moscow, Russia
- Taste of Dubai in Dubai, UAE
- Brussels Book Fair in Brussels, Belgium
- Crufts Dog Show in Birmingham, United Kingdom
- Middle East Film and Comic Con in Dubai, UAE
- CinemAsia Film Festival in Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Tampere Film Festival in Tampere, Finland
- Bahrain International Garden Show in Manama, Bahrain
- Adelaide Writers’ Week in Adelaide, Australia
- Adelaide Festival in Adelaide, Australia
- FEST (Belgrade International Film Festival) in Belgrade, Serbia
- New Zealand Fringe Festival in Wellington, New Zealand
- Enlighten Canberra in Canberra, Australia
- PAX East in Boston, USA
- Dublin International Film Festival in Dublin, Ireland
This Day in History
- 2021 Pope Francis began his historical visit to Iraq amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, intended to mend bridges between the different faiths in the country. He was the first Pope to visit Iraq.
- 2013 17 people were killed and 53 were injured in a suicide bombing carried out on an Egged bus in Haifa, Israel. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack.
- 2013 Died: Hugo Chávez, Venezuelan politician who served as the President of Venezuela from 1999 until his death. He also was the leader of the Fifth Republic Movement.
- 2012 A shooting attack occurred in a hair salon in Bucharest, Romania. Two people were killed and six were severely injured.
- 1982 Died: John Belushi, American comedian, actor, and musician who was one of the original cast members of the NBC live television sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live.
- 1974 Born: Matt Lucas, English comedian, actor, singer, and screenwriter. He is known for portraying Tweedledee and Tweedledum in Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland.
- 1974 Born: Eva Mendes, American actress, model, and singer who is known for her roles in the films Training Day, 2 Fast 2 Furious, Hitch, Ghost Rider.
- 1970 The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons entered into force. As of 2024, the Non-Proliferation Treaty has been ratified by 190 countries.
- 1966 BOAC Flight 911 (Speedbird 911) disintegrated and crashed near Mount Fuji, Japan. All 124 people on board were killed in the crash.
- 1960 Cuban photographer Alberto Korda took the iconic photograph of Marxist revolutionary Che Guevara which is known as Guerrillero Heroico.
- 1953 Died: Herman J. Mankiewicz, American screenwriter. His best known work is the screenplay for Citizen Kane which he wrote with Orson Welles.
- 1953 Died: Sergei Prokofiev, Russian composer, pianist, and conductor who is considered to be one of the most influential composers of the 20th century.
- 1953 Died: Joseph Stalin, the leader of the Soviet Union from 1922 until his death. After his death, the process of the so-called de-Stalinization was initiated.
- 1950 Died: Edgar Lee Masters, American poet, playwright, biographer, and lawyer. He is best known for his 1915 work Spoon River Anthology.
- 1943 The prototype of the Gloster Meteor took off on its first flight. It was the first British jet fighter and the Allies' first operational jet aircraft during World War II.
- 1936 The prototype of the Supermarine Spitfire took off on its first flight. This British single-seat fighter aircraft was used by the Royal Air Force during World War II.
- 1936 Born: Dean Stockwell, American actor whose career spanned over 65 years. He is widely known for his role as Al Calavicci on the sci-fi series Quantum Leap.
- 1929 Died: David Dunbar Buick, Scottish-born American inventor who founded the Buick Motor Company which is now a division of General Motors.
- 1922 Born: Pier Paolo Pasolini, Italian film director, writer, poet, journalist, philosopher, and intellectual who demonstrated a unique and extraordinary cultural versatility.
- 1918 Born: James Tobin, American economist who was awarded with the 1981 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for his analysis of financial markets.
- 1871 Born: Rosa Luxemburg, Marxist theorist, economist, philosopher and revolutionary socialist who co-founded the anti-war Spartacus League with Karl Liebknecht.
- 1868 American engineer and entrepreneur George Westinghouse patented the railway air brake. In various forms, the Westinghouse system has been nearly universally adopted.
- 1862 Born: Siegbert Tarrasch, one of the strongest chess players of the late 19th century and early 20th century. He also was an author and an influential chess teacher.
- 1853 Born: Howard Pyle, American illustrator and author best known for his 1882 novel The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood of Great Renown in Nottinghamshire.
- 1827 Died: Pierre-Simon Laplace, French scholar who made a significant contribution to the development of physics, astronomy, mathematics, and statistics.
- 1827 Died: Alessandro Volta, Italian physicist and chemist who invented the battery. The unit for electric potential and electromotive force was named after him.
- 1817 Born: Austen Henry Layard, English archaeologist, traveler, collector, author, and diplomat best known for having uncovered the library of Ashurbanipal.
- 1815 Died: Franz Mesmer, German physician who is best known for his theory of animal magnetism which is still practiced as a form of alternative medicine.
- 1770 The Boston Massacre, also known as the Incident on King Street, occurred. Five male civilians were killed by British Army soldiers in Boston, the capital of the Province of Massachusetts Bay.
- 1616 Nicolaus Copernicus's work De revolutionibus orbium coelestium was placed on the Index of Forbidden Books by a decree of the Sacred Congregation.
- 1512 Born: Gerardus Mercator, philosopher, cartographer, and mathematician who is known as the creator of the world map that was named after him.