Maligayang Tag-sibol
May 1st is the halfway point between the Spring and Summer Solstice. Celebrated by name as Beltane or May Day in the Western World, but in the Philippines—May 1st is Labor Day.
During this period of submissions, we hope to celebrate a day for Filipinx Americans and other Asian Pacific Islanders living in the Western World. Today starts our celebration of Asian Pacific Islander Heritage Month, and what better way to start it off with than a celebration of Spring; more importantly, the people who labor to keep their culture alive. The culture of their home country and the culture that they create in their homes and communities to speak to their current home away from home.
The theme for May submissions is a Call to Culture. We hope to feature many pieces that tie into Asian Pacific Islander Heritage Month; however, we do know that there are other cultures all over the world and we hope to celebrate and lift those up as well.
Our hope is that you share with us what your culture, structured or unstructured, means to you. How have you made your culture individual to you? How does following rituals and rites of passage from the culture of your homeland make you feel connected to your history? What does it mean to live in your bones? How can we resonate on the very things that bring us together, and learn more about other cultures to further knit us together?
What is culture and why should we care?
If the search for culture is too deep for what you can convey in the space you are in, mentally or spiritually, please celebrate May Day with us and the coming of Spring! Many cultures have different words for it, so what does Spring mean to you?
Sincerely,
Morgan Russell
Creative Writing Editor of Marías at Sampaguitas