Ramadan, Adar, and March all begin tonight. I think all three month's traditional celebrations can offer us something in this moment as subjects of the US empire.
Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar, which has no intercalary cycle to keep it tied to the solar seasons. For Muslims around the world, Ramadan is a month of self-control, self-sacrifice, and empathy for the poor and the oppressed. It's also a month of gathering communal strength, as people gather in each other's homes for the pre-dawn and sunset meals. For devout Muslims, it's a time of serious introspection and rededication, but also a time of great joy with celebratory suhur and iftar meals surrounded by friends and neighbors reminding everybody that collective joy is as important as personal sacrifice.
Adar is the sixth month of the Hebrew calendar (or the twelfth depending on which new year you count from) and it's said that once Adar begins, joy increases. This is partly due to the signs of spring coming, no doubt, but for Jews worldwide it's also very specifically about the defeat of a demagogue who spread fear and hate against a marginalized minority community, painting us as foreign interlopers who refused to assimilate, who was stopped in his tracks by one of his own targets when she stood up and spoke truth. Every year we celebrate Esther's bravery and Haman's fall from power. It's a time for imagining (and fighting for) a near future where today's targeted minorities are safe, empowered, and protected.
And finally, March. Once the first month in the Roman calendar, now the third. We know its message well here on tumblr. A time to celebrate Caesar's cronies turning on him, a reminder that even the tyrants who seem most unbeatable can fall in an instant, and that there will never be honor among oligarchs.
So whatever you call the next month, take strength. We may be under the empire's boot today or fear it falling on us tomorrow, but no empire is forever, and we can stand joyfully together for a different, brighter future.













