diff --git a/include/mapnik/init_priority.hpp b/include/mapnik/init_priority.hpp
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..e75be4233
--- /dev/null
+++ b/include/mapnik/init_priority.hpp
@@ -0,0 +1,34 @@
+/*****************************************************************************
+ *
+ * This file is part of Mapnik (c++ mapping toolkit)
+ *
+ * Copyright (C) 2017 Artem Pavlenko
+ *
+ * This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
+ * modify it under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public
+ * License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either
+ * version 2.1 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
+ *
+ * This library is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+ * but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+ * MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU
+ * Lesser General Public License for more details.
+ *
+ * You should have received a copy of the GNU Lesser General Public
+ * License along with this library; if not, write to the Free Software
+ * Foundation, Inc., 51 Franklin St, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA  02110-1301  USA
+ *
+ *****************************************************************************/
+
+#ifndef MAPNIK_INIT_PRIORITY_HPP
+#define MAPNIK_INIT_PRIORITY_HPP
+
+// helper macro for dealing with static variables initialising order fiasco (#3821)
+#if defined(__GNUC__) || defined(__clang__)
+#define MAPNIK_INIT_PRIORITY(priority) __attribute__((init_priority(priority)))
+#else
+#define MAPNIK_INIT_PRIORITY
+// TODO: anything we can do on windows?
+#endif
+
+#endif //MAPNIK_INIT_PRIORITY_HPP
diff --git a/include/mapnik/json/generic_json_grammar_x3_def.hpp b/include/mapnik/json/generic_json_grammar_x3_def.hpp
index 98ed4674e..ea4f52f3c 100644
--- a/include/mapnik/json/generic_json_grammar_x3_def.hpp
+++ b/include/mapnik/json/generic_json_grammar_x3_def.hpp
@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@
 #include <boost/fusion/include/std_pair.hpp>
 #include <mapnik/json/generic_json_grammar_x3.hpp>
 #include <mapnik/json/unicode_string_grammar_x3.hpp>
+#include <mapnik/init_priority.hpp>
 
 namespace mapnik { namespace json { namespace grammar {
 
@@ -73,7 +74,7 @@ namespace { auto const& json_string = mapnik::json::unicode_string_grammar(); }
 
 // exported rules
 // start
-generic_json_grammar_type const value __attribute__((init_priority(102))) ("JSON Value");
+generic_json_grammar_type const value MAPNIK_INIT_PRIORITY(102) ("JSON Value");
 generic_json_key_value_type const key_value("JSON Object element");
 // rules
 x3::rule<class json_object_tag, json_object> const object("JSON Object");
diff --git a/include/mapnik/json/geojson_grammar_x3_def.hpp b/include/mapnik/json/geojson_grammar_x3_def.hpp
index 407e87fdc..f5f52d5e6 100644
--- a/include/mapnik/json/geojson_grammar_x3_def.hpp
+++ b/include/mapnik/json/geojson_grammar_x3_def.hpp
@@ -23,10 +23,11 @@
 #ifndef MAPNIK_JSON_GEOJSON_GRAMMAR_X3_DEF_HPP
 #define MAPNIK_JSON_GEOJSON_GRAMMAR_X3_DEF_HPP
 
-
 #include <mapnik/json/geojson_grammar_x3.hpp>
 #include <mapnik/json/unicode_string_grammar_x3.hpp>
 #include <mapnik/json/positions_grammar_x3.hpp>
+#include <mapnik/init_priority.hpp>
+
 #include <boost/fusion/include/std_pair.hpp>
 
 namespace mapnik { namespace json { namespace grammar {
@@ -89,8 +90,8 @@ struct geometry_type_ : x3::symbols<mapnik::geometry::geometry_types>
 
 // exported rules
 // start
-geojson_grammar_type const value  __attribute__((init_priority(106))) ("JSON Value");
-key_value_type const key_value  __attribute__((init_priority(107))) ("JSON key/value");
+geojson_grammar_type const value MAPNIK_INIT_PRIORITY(106) ("JSON Value");
+key_value_type const key_value MAPNIK_INIT_PRIORITY(107) ("JSON key/value");
 // rules
 x3::rule<class json_object_tag, geojson_object> const object("JSON Object");
 x3::rule<class json_array_tag, geojson_array> const array("JSON Array");
diff --git a/include/mapnik/json/positions_grammar_x3_def.hpp b/include/mapnik/json/positions_grammar_x3_def.hpp
index 2dec62fec..206d22251 100644
--- a/include/mapnik/json/positions_grammar_x3_def.hpp
+++ b/include/mapnik/json/positions_grammar_x3_def.hpp
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@
 
 #include <mapnik/json/positions_grammar_x3.hpp>
 #include <mapnik/geometry/fusion_adapted.hpp>
+#include <mapnik/init_priority.hpp>
 
 namespace mapnik { namespace json { namespace grammar {
 
@@ -42,7 +43,7 @@ auto assign_helper = [](auto const& ctx)
 } // anonymous ns
 
 // start rule
-positions_grammar_type const positions __attribute__((init_priority(103))) ("Positions");
+positions_grammar_type const positions MAPNIK_INIT_PRIORITY(103) ("Positions");
 // rules
 x3::rule<class point_class, point> const point("Position");
 x3::rule<class ring_class, ring> const ring("Ring");
diff --git a/include/mapnik/json/topojson_grammar_x3_def.hpp b/include/mapnik/json/topojson_grammar_x3_def.hpp
index f1e0481a8..54ba23963 100644
--- a/include/mapnik/json/topojson_grammar_x3_def.hpp
+++ b/include/mapnik/json/topojson_grammar_x3_def.hpp
@@ -26,6 +26,8 @@
 #include <mapnik/json/unicode_string_grammar_x3.hpp>
 #include <mapnik/json/generic_json_grammar_x3.hpp>
 #include <mapnik/json/topojson_grammar_x3.hpp>
+#include <mapnik/init_priority.hpp>
+
 #pragma GCC diagnostic push
 #include <mapnik/warning_ignore.hpp>
 #include <boost/fusion/adapted/struct.hpp>
@@ -304,7 +306,7 @@ struct topojson_geometry_type_ : x3::symbols<int>
 } topojson_geometry_type;
 
 // start rule
-topojson_grammar_type const topology __attribute__((init_priority(104))) ("Topology");
+topojson_grammar_type const topology MAPNIK_INIT_PRIORITY(104) ("Topology");
 // rules
 x3::rule<class transform_tag, mapnik::topojson::transform> const transform = "Transform";
 x3::rule<class bbox_tag, mapnik::topojson::bounding_box> const bbox = "Bounding Box";
diff --git a/include/mapnik/json/unicode_string_grammar_x3_def.hpp b/include/mapnik/json/unicode_string_grammar_x3_def.hpp
index 3234c73fa..2335b657b 100644
--- a/include/mapnik/json/unicode_string_grammar_x3_def.hpp
+++ b/include/mapnik/json/unicode_string_grammar_x3_def.hpp
@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@
 #define MAPNIK_JSON_UNICODE_STRING_GRAMMAR_X3_DEF_HPP
 
 #include <mapnik/json/unicode_string_grammar_x3.hpp>
+#include <mapnik/init_priority.hpp>
 // boost
 #include <boost/regex/pending/unicode_iterator.hpp>
 //
@@ -109,7 +110,7 @@ x3::uint_parser<std::uint16_t, 16, 4, 4> const hex4 {};
 x3::uint_parser<uchar, 16, 8, 8> const hex8 {};
 
 // start rule
-unicode_string_grammar_type const unicode_string __attribute__((init_priority(101))) ("Unicode String");
+unicode_string_grammar_type const unicode_string MAPNIK_INIT_PRIORITY(101) ("Unicode String");
 // rules
 x3::rule<class double_quoted_tag, std::string> const double_quoted("Double-quoted string");
 x3::rule<class escaped_tag, std::string> const escaped("Escaped Character");