Animal Crossing New Horizons: March Overview

Spring has arrived in the north and fall has dawned in the south as March comes around. Wherever you are in the world, celebrate with the Irish on Shamrock Day or grab yourself a special kind of pie on Pi Day, plus other events, birthdays, and monthly creatures to catch.

Animal Crossing New Horizons March Overview Guide Cover

March is a significant month. In the north, it marks the beginning of spring. In the south, however, it’s the first month of fall as summer ends. It’s a quieter month for Animal Crossing: New Horizons, but there’s still stuff to do, new creatures to catch, and seasonal items to buy. This guide will give you an overview of what’s to come in March.

Note that the dates of some of the events depends on what year it is. For example, Bunny Day can occur in either March or April. Also, some seasonal items available to purchase from Nook Shopping run into the next month or are still available from the previous month.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons is available on Nintendo Switch for your regional pricing.

EVENTS

Spring has begun in the north, while it’s the dawn of fall in the south. March is generally a quieter month in New Horizons, but there’s still stuff to see and do. Let’s break down any events occurring this month, as well as any available Nook Shopping seasonal items.

HINAMATSURI FESTIVAL

Hinamatsuri Festival was actually covered in the February guide, but it’s worth mentioning again here since the real-world festival takes place on March 3rd. You can start getting ready for this event from the 25th of February, because that’s when the items become available in Nook Shopping. While there sadly isn’t any actual festivities to celebrate this day, you can partake in the occasion thanks to two special items. These are the Blossom Lantern (2,400 Bells) and Hinaningyo (2,560 Bells).

Hinamatsuri is a Japanese festival that is also known as Girl’s Day. It’s a day when families wish for their girls to grow up happy and healthy. A tradition is to have a special display in the house called a Hinaningyo. On these displays are dolls representing the wedding of an emperor and empress. These are situated between bonbori lanterns. These are the special items you can get in New Horizons courtesy of Nook Shopping, if you wish to celebrate the festival in the game.

Hinamatsuri (Girl's Day) carries over from February into March.

Hinamatsuri (Girl’s Day) carries over from February into March.

PI DAY

A day about pie? Well, sort of. This day is actually referring to Pi, as in the Greek letter π. Although, there is a pie you can get, with the π symbol on it. You can buy it from Nook Shopping from March 1st until the 14th, when Pi Day takes place.

Why is Pi Day celebrated on this particular day? The first numbers of Pi π is 3.14, so the day is celebrated on the third month of the year, March, on the 14th day. You might also notice that the π Pie costs exactly 314 Bells!

Fancy some Pi, anyone?

Fancy some Pi, anyone?

SHAMROCK DAY

This special day is all about the Irish. Sadly, there’s no activities on this day, but you can still celebrate. Between the 10th and 17th of March (when the actual day occurs), you can go mad for Irish shamrock in three different ways. First, you can grab three items from Nook Shopping. These are the Shamrock Doorplate (1,200 Bells), the Shamrock Rug (1,500 Bells), and the Shamrock Soda (1,000 Bells). You can also dress up your character in traditional Irish clothes thanks to special items at the Able Sisters. Look out for the Shamrock Hat (1,320 Bells), Shamrock Shoes (1,680 Bells), Shamrock Suit (3,000 Bells), and Shamrock Sunglasses (1,100 Bells). Lastly, if you haven’t got enough of shamrock already, you can pick up a DIY recipe from popping a balloon for a Shamrock Wand.

What is Shamrock Day? This day is actually known as St. Patrick’s Day in Ireland. St. Patrick was the patron saint of Ireland, who helped the Irish to convert to Christianity. His day is celebrated on the 17th of March, the day that he died. The celebrations of St. Patrick’s Day became much bigger thanks to Irish immigrants in the United States, where the first St. Patrick’s Day parade took place in 1737.

Celebrate the traditional Irish holiday Shamrock Day.

Celebrate the traditional Irish holiday Shamrock Day.

Even though the color blue was associated with St. Patrick in life, green is the color mainly associated with the occasion, as seen with the special items in New Horizons. This is because of the symbol of the shamrock, a plant in which the green leaves are divided into threes, like a clover. St. Patrick was said to have used shamrocks to explain the Holy Trinity to the Irish, which is why it is so famously associated with this holiday, as well as the color green. In Chicago, they even dye the river green to mark the occasion.

APRIL FOOL’S DAY 

Wait, isn’t April Fool’s Day in… well, April? Yes, it is, but you can start preparing for it as early as March 26th. If you want to prank any visitors or your fellow villagers, you can pick yourself up a Whoopee Cushion (400 Bells) from Nook Shopping. Unlike New Leaf, there are no activities covering this day.

It’s not really known where or how this day came into existence, but all everyone knows is that on this day, you should be on your guard as people play jokes and pranks on others. Make sure you’re not the next victim!

Prepare yourself for April Fool's, whether you're the victim or the prankster.

Prepare yourself for April Fool’s, whether you’re the victim or the prankster.

BUNNY DAY

Bunny Day is the equivalent of Easter in Animal Crossing. What day this occasion takes place on depends on the year. Bunny Day can occur in either March or April. In 2022 and 2023, Bunny Day will occur in April, and won’t take place in March until 2024. However, for the purpose of this guide, we’ll explore what you can expect on Bunny Day.

The event takes place for the duration of a week, or 8 days, to be exact. The eighth and final day is the big day itself. The other seven days prepares you for it.

Before Bunny Day officially arrives, you’ll get the chance to find eggs around the island. There are 6 types of eggs. There are Earth Eggs, which are buried in the ground; Leaf Eggs, which are found in trees by shaking them; Sky Eggs, which are found from multi-colored striped balloons in the sky that you can pop with your slingshot; Stone Eggs, which you can find by hitting rocks with axes or shovels; Water Eggs, which you can find by fishing in any bodies of water; and Wood Eggs, which you can find by chopping trees with an axe.

Go crazy for eggs when Bunny Day arrives.

Go crazy for eggs when Bunny Day arrives.

Why should you collect these eggs? You can use them for the seasonal Bunny Day Series DIY recipes, which includes furniture and clothes that you can craft. You can find more recipes and items by finding special message-in-a-bottles on beaches and popping balloons in the sky.

On Bunny Day itself, Zipper T. Bunny will arrive on your island, positioned in front of Resident Services. Villagers will also dress up for the occasion. Zipper will ask you to bring him one of each type of egg. If you do, he’ll give you a Bunny Day Basket. Additionally, if you’ve learned all 18 DIY recipes from the Bunny Day furniture series, Zipper will gift you two items: a Wobbling Zipper Toy, and a Bunny Day Wand.

EVENTS SUMMARY

Let’s have a quick reminder of the events and available seasonal items in March and the dates you need to look out for:

25th February to 3rd March:

  • Hinamatsuri Festival – Pick up the Blossom Lantern and Hinaningyo from Nook Shopping.
For Hinamatsuri, pick up a Blossom Lantern and Hinaningyo.

For Hinamatsuri, pick up a Blossom Lantern and Hinaningyo.

1st to 14th:

  • Pi π Day – Buy a Pi Day Pie from Nook Shopping.

10th to 17th:

  • Shamrock Day – Celebrate the Irish holiday with Nook Shopping items and clothes from Able Sisters.

26th March to 1st April:

  • April Fool’s Day – Prank your friends with a Whoopee Cushion from Nook Shopping.

March or April:

  • Bunny Day – An 8-day event where you can collect eggs for crafting items or trade them in to Zipper T. Bunny for special items.
During Bunny Day week, look out for eggs around the island.

During Bunny Day week, look out for eggs around the island.

BIRTHDAYS

Another month means another round of birthdays to celebrate, whether it’s your fellow villagers or special NPC characters. Find out whose birthday is on what day this month from the list below:

Date Villager/Character
1st Coco
2nd Barold
3rd Bonbon, Pavé
4th Anchovy
5th Gala
6th Chevre, Chai
7th Molly, C.J.
8th Zucker, Pete
9th Cyrano
10th Judy
11th Hopkins, Zipper
12th Midge
13th Megan
14th Dotty
15th Julian
16th Doc
17th Cheri
18th Dom
19th Merengue, Pelly
20th Hornsby
21st Elise, Faith
22nd Paula
23rd Axel
24th Skye
25th Billy, Celia
26th Fauna, Louie
27th Lolly
28th Baabara
29th Biff
30th Felicity, Daisy Mae
31st Klaus
Axel celebrates his birthday in March, along with many other characters.

Axel celebrates his birthday in March, along with many other characters.

BUGS, FISH, AND SEA CREATURES

As another month comes and another one goes, so do the bugs, fish, and sea creatures. With February over and March arriving, it brings new creatures to find and catch, while some may disappear for a while at the end of this month. If you’re an avid creature collector who wants to fill up your Critterpedia and the museum, or you just want to know what’s around this month, you’re looking in the right place. There is a much more detailed guide to bugs, fish, and sea creatures in the month of March, but here’s a quick overview of what you can expect this month in both hemispheres.

Let’s start by looking at what bugs you can find in the north hemisphere. As March dawns, the first of the spring bugs emerges, including butterflies, bugs, and mantis. The only north bug departing at the end of this month is the Emperor Butterfly.

The south too are getting some new butterflies, but also crickets and a few other bugs. On the other hand, there are a LOT of bugs leaving the south at the end of March. These include certain butterflies, beetles, and other bugs.

The Common Butterfly will be a common sight in the south.

The Common Butterfly will be a common sight in the south.

What about fish? Starting in the north, there’s some new fish to look out for, including tadpoles, loaches, and cherry salmon. Some fish are also disappearing after March, including the stringfish, sturgeon, and sea butterfly.

In the south, a similar number of fish are arriving, including pike, salmon, and sturgeon. However, like the bugs in the south, there’s a lot of fish leaving at the end of the month, including sharks, as summer comes to an end.

See you later, yellow fellow!

See you later, yellow fellow!

Finally, let’s check out what sea creatures are available, starting in the north. There’s some new sea creatures to catch, including the chambered nautilus and firefly squid. Only one sea creature will disappear at the end of March, and that’s the red king crab.

What about the south? There’s some new sea creatures arriving, including the oyster and umbrella octopus. There’s a few more sea creatures departing the seas though. These include the sea urchins, giant clam, horseshoe crab, and moon jellyfish.

In the north, the red king crab is the only creature departing the seas.

In the north, the red king crab is the only creature departing the seas.

FINAL NOTES

Seasonally, March is an important mark for the north and south, each for different reasons.

In the north, winter is over. The snow is now gone, having finally melted at the end of February, uncovering grass. You may have noticed that the grass and trees looks a bit dull and off-color, not the spring-like fresh bright green you were expecting. Don’t worry, because the grass will flourish and color will return to your island. As March progresses, you may notice a subtle change as the grass and trees goes from brown to a much brighter and fresher-looking green, particularly in the second half of the month.

In the south, things are a little different. Summer’s over, and fall has arrived. This means the lush green colors you’ve gotten used to in the spring and summer are coming to an end. These will be replaced with warm fall colors of yellows, oranges, and reds, as well as browns. This won’t be instantaneous though. It’ll stay lush and green for a while, until a week or so into March, when you may notice the greens of the grass and trees tinged with yellow.

Whether you're in the north or south, you'll notice some subtle changes in the scenery.

Whether you’re in the north or south, you’ll notice some subtle changes in the scenery.

That rounds up what’s happening in March in Animal Crossing: New Horizons. It may seem like a quieter month, even if Bunny Day does occur in this month, but with spring dawning in the north and summer winding down in the south, there’s always something going on.

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