A small refusal to be governed
"Maybe the schedule I think about every day isn’t the most important one. Maybe I’m also on another calendar, on a different timeline."
You may not know it, but there’s a holiday today. Up to a certain point, those celebrating it didn’t know when it would fall either. That’s because Eid al-Ahda varies from year to year, relying on actual moon sightings, and beginning when a waxing crescent moon is spotted in the evening sky after the new moon phase. In 2017 this happened in August, in 2020 it was July, and this year the end of June.
While the actual origin of the holiday commemorates Ibrahim’s willingness to sacrifice his son, Ismail, Romaissaa Benzizoune writes about the modern celebration as a rebellion against the tyranny of time:
Celebrating Eid whenever it comes, whether the timing is convenient or not, is a small refusal to be governed — by our workplaces, of course, but also by all the systems that regulate us.
With no Muslim holidays recognized at the federal level, celebrating comes at a personal cost, and because of the variance in when it falls, planning ahead isn’t available for those with rigid vacation policies.
But taking a day for yourself or your family or your beliefs doesn’t usually backfire. You can always catch up on work or school or, more likely, not miss much at all. In 20 years, will you remember the meetings that could have been emails on a Thursday in June or will you remember the look on your parents face when you surprised them with a trip home?
As Benzizoune writes:
It’s an opportunity to look up from the daily hustle. It’s a reminder, if not a suggestion: Maybe the schedule I think about every day isn’t the most important one. Maybe I’m also on another calendar, on a different timeline. In a different year entirely. I have all day to think about it.