March 31, 2026, is the 90th and final day of March, with 275 days remaining in the year, and it falls on a Tuesday — Holy Tuesday — in the thirteenth week of the year.
With 16 national and international days on the calendar, March ends with real variety, from the International Transgender Day of Visibility and the Eiffel Tower’s 137th anniversary to tacos, crayons, potato celebrations, and a reminder to back up your files before April Fools’ Day.
National Days on March 31
All national & international days celebrated today
16 celebrations on this dayInternational Transgender Day of Visibility
A global day celebrating the resilience and achievements of transgender and non-binary people, while raising awareness of the discrimination they continue to face around the world.
International Taco Day
A global celebration of one of Mexico’s most popular foods — the taco — in all its infinite variations, from street-style carnitas to crispy shells piled high with every topping imaginable.
National Crayon Day
A colourful celebration of the crayon — the first art tool for millions of children — and all the creativity and joy packed into that iconic waxy stick.
Eiffel Tower Day
Marking the inauguration of the Eiffel Tower on March 31, 1889 — built in just over two years by Gustave Eiffel for the Paris World’s Fair, and originally planned for demolition after 20 years.
Here’s every observance celebrated on March 31, 2026.
National & International Days on March 31
Whether you’re eating tacos, colouring with crayons, hugging a medievalist, marvelling at French engineering, or simply making sure your digital files are safely backed up, there’s something on this list for everyone. Here’s the story behind each of these March 31 celebrations.
Anesthesia Tech Day
Anesthesia Tech Day recognizes anesthesia technicians and technologists, the healthcare professionals responsible for setting up equipment, assisting anesthesiologists, and monitoring patients during surgical procedures. Established in 2019 by the American Society of Anesthesia Technologists and Technicians (ASATT), the day aims to raise public awareness of the profession and its role in patient safety. On this day, hospitals and medical centers across the country use the occasion to acknowledge these workers and educate others about what the job entails.
Eiffel Tower Day
Eiffel Tower Day is observed every March 31, the date in 1889 when engineer Gustave Eiffel completed his iron lattice tower in Paris. Built in just over two years as the centerpiece of the World’s Fair, the structure was initially met with public criticism but drew over two million visitors in its first year. Today it remains the most visited paid monument in the world.
Farmworkers Day
Farmworkers Day (formerly National Farm Workers Day) honors the birth and legacy of Cesar Chavez, a cofounder of the United Farm Workers union and a central figure in the fight for farm labor rights. It is no coincidence that the observance falls on his birthday, given his role in cofounding the National Farm Workers Association and leading the historic five-year Delano grape strike, which secured higher wages for California grape pickers. In March 2026, however, following public allegations of sexual abuse against Chavez, several jurisdictions renamed the holiday to Farmworkers Day to shift focus to the broader movement rather than the individual.
Holy Tuesday
Holy Tuesday* (Third day of Holy Week) is the third day of Holy Week. According to the Gospels, Jesus spent the day in a series of public debates with religious leaders who were trying to discredit him and responded with some of his sharpest recorded criticism of their authority. It stands out as one of his last days of open, public teaching before his arrest later that week.
International Hug a Medievalist Day
Hug a Medievalist Day recognizes scholars who study the history, literature, art, and culture of the Middle Ages. Sarah Laseke, a student of medieval literature at the University of Oxford, started the day in 2011 after her partner joined Hug a Librarian Day on Facebook and she decided medievalists deserved something similar. The day began as a Facebook event and has since drawn attention from outlets including the New Yorker, and is now marked annually by the academic community and history enthusiasts online.
International Taco Day
International Taco Day, also known as Día del Taco, established in 2007 by the Mexican broadcaster Televisa to celebrate one of Mexico’s most recognized dishes. The day is marked primarily in Mexico and Latin America, but its international reach is growing. In the United States, a separate National Taco Day falls on the first Tuesday in October.
International Transgender Day of Visibility
International Transgender Day of Visibility was founded in 2009 by Rachel Crandall-Crocker, a psychotherapist and executive director of Transgender Michigan. She created it in reaction to the frustration that the only well-known transgender-centered day was the Transgender Day of Remembrance, which mourned the murders of transgender people but did not celebrate living members of the community. It has since grown into a global observance, with rallies and events held across dozens of countries each year.
National Après Day
National Après Day is a holiday founded in 2023 by Breckenridge Distillery to honor the après-ski tradition of relaxing and socializing with friends after a day on the slopes. Through its #AprèsAnywhere campaign, the distillery expanded this idea beyond skiing, inviting people to unwind and raise a glass after any accomplishment, whether on the mountain or not.
National Bunsen Burner Day
National Bunsen Burner Day honors German chemist Robert Wilhelm Eberhard von Bunsen, born in 1811 (though sources vary on whether his birthday was March 30 or 31). Frustrated by the sooty, hard-to-control burners of his time, Bunsen worked with his lab assistant Peter Desaga to create a device that mixed combustible gas with just the right amount of air, producing a stable, clean flame. The Bunsen burner remains standard laboratory equipment, used for heating, sterilization, and combustion in schools and labs.
National Clams on the Half Shell Day
National Clams on the Half Shell Day honors one of the seafood world’s most beloved preparations: fresh clams served raw, steamed, grilled, or smoked directly on their shells. One of the most famous half-shell dishes is Clams Casino, topped with breadcrumbs, bacon, and peppers, which originated in Rhode Island and is a popular appetizer in New England. Though the year 1917 is widely cited, food historians have traced the dish back to 1894, when maître d’hôtel Julius Keller created it at the Narragansett Casino for socialite Mrs. Paran Stevens.
National Crayon Day
National Crayon Day has been celebrated on March 31st since at least 2006, though its founder remains unknown. The day marks a 1903 milestone when Edwin Binney’s Binney & Smith company became the first to produce colored wax crayons designed specifically for children, offering schools an affordable, non-toxic art supply. His wife Alice named the brand by combining the French word for chalk with a reference to the paraffin wax used in production, giving the world Crayola.
National Prom Day
National Prom Day was founded in 2016 by PromGirl, an online retailer for teen formalwear, with the goal of highlighting the significance of prom night while supporting nonprofits that improve the lives of teens. In its first year the day raised funds for Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD), and in subsequent years PromGirl partnered with the Garden of Dreams Foundation, which provides prom experiences for teens facing obstacles such as illness or poverty.
🌟 National Promposal Day is observed on March 11, dedicated to creative and memorable prom invitations.
National She’s Funny That Way Day
National She’s Funny That Way Day was created by author Brenda Meridith to coincide with the March 2003 publication of her coming-of-age novel of the same name. The day pays tribute to the humorous nature of women, from professional comedians to friends and family, and is typically marked by watching stand-up specials, films, and TV shows featuring women in comedy.
National Tater Day
National Tater Day began in 1843 in Benton, Kentucky, where growers would gather to sell sweet potatoes and purchase potato slips for planting. That makes it the oldest continuous trade day in the United States. Though the original celebration centered on sweet potatoes, the day has since expanded to include all potato varieties.
🥔 National Potato Day on August 19 is another day focused on celebrating all things potato.
Transfer Day
Transfer Day is a public holiday in the U.S. Virgin Islands, celebrated on March 31st to mark the 1917 transfer of the islands from Denmark to the United States. The two countries negotiated over the islands for more than 50 years, but it was World War I that finally sealed the deal. Denmark needed the money, and the U.S. needed to prevent the islands from potentially falling into German hands.The U.S. paid $25 million in gold coin, and the transfer was marked by simultaneous flag-raising ceremonies on St. Thomas and St. Croix.
World Backup Day
World Backup Day has two overlapping origin stories: hard drive company Maxtor declared the first World Backup Month in 2005, but the day as it exists today grew out of a 2011 Reddit post in which a user described losing everything when their hard drive failed and wished someone had warned them. Falling one day before April Fools’, it reminds individuals and businesses to create copies of their data before something goes wrong.
