Okay, okay! I know! I treated last Sunday as the day of rest it usually is, and not the big occasion it was — that being the International Transgender Day of Visibility, of course. What, you were gonna expect me to say it was Easter? Well, it was Easter Sunday in addition to it being TDOV.
But there were those of a certain cultural and political slant, not to mention the campaign of a certain charlatan candidate, who found it upsetting that Trans Day of Visibility 2024 just happened to fall on the same day as Easter 2024. “Blasphemous!” they thought of President Biden recognizing TDOV; “how dare he violate our religious beliefs!”
Well, it’s not the president’s fault. Instead, blame astronomy… and history. Allow me to give you the long and the short of it:
Every year, a full moon takes place on or after March 21, the date usually associated with the vernal equinox in the Northern Hemisphere. This is the first “ecclesiastical full moon” on the “ecclesiastical lunar calendar.” The first Sunday following this particular full moon is Easter Sunday, a holiday that can fall anywhere between the 22nd of March and the 25th of April. But that’s if you follow the Western, or Gregorian, calendar. Those who follow the liturgical calendar of the Eastern Orthodox Church commemorate Easter as soon the 4th of April or as late as the 8th of May.
Every year, meanwhile, the International Transgender Day of Visibility falls on the 31st of March, no matter the day of the week.
Simple-dimple explanation, huh?
And to think that before last Sunday, the only controversy surrounding the holiday had been efforts to make Easter fall on one singular Sunday every year. Yep, ever since the 2nd century AD, there has been discussions and brainstorming over exactly when Easter should be celebrated, not to mention arguments over which religion or nation should make that decision. But instead of their picking some Sunday in April and say, “This’ll be the date, once and for all!” Easter still jumps around from one year to the next.
But not TDOV. And for the most part, TDOV has gone on its merry way — emphasis on “merry,” as it’s a day that’s not only intentionally apart from both Pride Month in June and Trans Day of Remembrance in November, but is meant to be a celebratory one. On TDOV, we celebrate all within the trans and gender-nonconforming community while, yes, recognizing the obstacles and backlash we still face.
Obstacles and backlash like, say, that from people whose “religious beliefs” include hating communities they think shouldn’t exist. They, along with a certain “news” network’s commentators, all had a cow over President Biden issuing a proclamation for TDOV 2024, a document that honored “the extraordinary courage and contributions of transgender Americans” who are “part of the fabric of our Nation.”
That same side of the cultural aisle even stooped so low as to spread misinformation that Mr. Biden intentionally set TDOV to overlap with Easter out of (false) spite against the Christian community. You know, the same faith Mr. Biden professes (he’s a practicing Catholic).
But, again, Easter and TDOV coinciding is just pure coincidence! Just as it was when TDOV and Easter overlapped on March 31 back in 2013. And just as it is when Easter Sunday and April Fools’ Day occur on the same April 1, or when Easter occurs (as it will next year) on the favorite day of those who consume cannabis, illegally or otherwise.
Really, though, this manufactured controversy of “Easter 2024 versus TDOV 2024” was a way to gin up a voting base that always needs something to get mad about… especially if it’s anger toward marginalized communities like LGBT+ people. Which, the last time I checked, is not the proper Christian attitude.
And that’s not just me saying that, or using the words “manufactured controversy”: Sarah Kate Ellis, the president/CEO of GLAAD, used that term in a statement that also noted how this brouhaha only “overshadow[ed] the hope and joy that Easter represents.” President Biden also noted “the power, hope, and promise” Easter brings in his own statement. (See? He didn’t forget it was Easter!)
Ms. Ellis and Mr. Biden have very valid points: Both TDOV and Easter are meant to be celebratory occasions. And Easter itself is a day of rebirth, not only of flowers coming out of the ground but also of a long-revered figure who preached a tenet conveniently forgotten by those who claim to be faithful while being hateful:
“Love thy neighbor.”
If there was a bright spot in this fake controversy, it’s that, perhaps this year more than previously, the International Transgender Day of Visibility had a bigger, brighter light shone on it. The trans/GNC community and our allies already know what March 31 was about, but the hissy fit over it falling on Easter really made our day shine.
Indeed, it felt like “the best Trans Day of Visibility ever!”
Oh, “hissy fit” and “Best TDOV ever!” are two of the terms that, respectively, Desi Lydic and Michael Kosta used in covering this mess on The Daily Show this past week. Their segment is embedded below, along with their noting that every day is “Christian Visibility Day” (put a cork in it, prudes!), and that no one forcefully paired an orchiectomy with the Eucharist last Sunday.
TDOV was never intended to supersede Easter. Perhaps to get one commemoration over on those who only want to celebrate the other, think of TDOV and Easter in 2024 as like the chocolate and peanut butter in a Reese’s peanut butter cup: They’re two already great days that taste great together…
…even if both days won’t fall together until 2086, a year when, finally and hopefully, the holier-than-thou set have set aside their hate toward the trans community.
Allison M. 