Blog

Is it 5784 or 2024? Or perhaps the Asian year of 4720, with the new year beginning on February 10, the year of the dragon.  The Asian calendar is also a lunar calendar, as is the Muslim calendar, and that year is 1445(Iran and Afghanistan use the solar calendar). The Jewish people simultaneously exist within several calendric systems, with our lunar system being primary. The dates of all of our holidays are determined by our lunar calendar, with one oddity.  Because the lunar year is 354 days, we lose eleven days each year. The spring holiday of Passover, which falls on the full moon of the vernal equinox, would eventually become a winter holiday. To maintain the constancy, around 358CE, the Sanhedrin established a fixed calendar. Now comes some math.

If we would continue the lunar calendar minus any corrections, we would lose 210 days after 19 years. By adding a leap month of thirty days seven times within this nineteen-year period, the  calendars are realigned 7 x 30 = 210). The leap month, designated Adar 1, is inserted before Adar 2, with Purim occurring during Adar 2, which is the case this year. The technical term for adding a day into the calendar(as we do to the solar calendar this year) or a month( which we do this year) is “intercalation”.  By maintaining this leap month system, Passover will always be in the Spring.  Easter usually falls during Passover as it is on the Sunday following the full moon of the vernal equinox. Since this is a Jewish(and solar) leap year, Easter will fall on March 31, six days after the full moon. Passover will fall on April 22 because of the addition of the leap month.

Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, which begins on March 10 of this year. Since there is no leap month added, the Hijri calendar consists of twelve months of 354 days. Each year Ramadan begins eleven days earlier than the prior year.

I find it stimulating to float in and out of simultaneous calendars during the year. The Jewish lunar calendar maintains a constant presence, as it marks Shabbat, festivals and Yahrtzeitin. The solar calendar acknowledges American celebrations such as Thanksgiving and Independence Day.  The Chinese lunar calendar affords me the opportunity to wish my Asian friends “Gong Xi Fa Chai”, which means “Best wishes, wishing you happiness and prosperity.” The Hijri calendar gives me the opportunity to wish my Muslim friends “Ramadan Mubarak”, which means “Blessed Ramadan”, or “Ramadan Kareem”, which means “Generous Ramadan”.

I’ve never thought to engage in the age-old Jewish humor that our holidays are always early or late, although to help you prepare, Rosh Hashanah will be late(October 3-4), and it will probably snow during Sukkot in Pittsburgh (October 17). I do wonder if other faiths that utilize the lunar calendar remark that a religious observance will be early or late.  While living within two calendars can be confusing, the use of the lunar calendar as the calendar made complete sense for agricultural communities, which is what most communities were. The consistency of a 29 1/2 day month with a noticeable halfway point(the full moon) as well as clear end and beginning (new moon) made far better sense than the solar calendar, which afforded no markers during the year. The Julian calendar was introduced by Julius Caesar in 45BCE, replacing the Republican calendar used by Roman since 509 BCE. The Julian calendar was replaced by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582 after they found errors, which was the same reason that the Julian calendar came into existence. Even the Gregorian calendar is imperfect, requiring the addition of one day every four years to correct it. For those born on February 29, congratulations upon celebrating your birthday on its actual day.

The Jewish calendar remains the oldest calendar in current use, and it continues to be steady and reliable. We may joke about our holidays being early or late, but they are actually always on time. Rosh Hashanah has been on the first of Tishrei for millennia, an old and reliable friend. It is the solar year that is messed up, and this phrase indeed deserves a major sermon. Not now. Happy new year to all you solar calendrists.  To my Jewish friends, been there, did it 110 days ago.