New Moon - Religious Use

Religious Use

• The Islamic calendar has retained an observational definition of the new moon, marking the new month when the first crescent moon is actually seen, and making it impossible to be certain in advance of when a specific month will begin (in particular, the exact date on which Ramadan will begin is not known in advance). In Saudi Arabia, if the weather is cloudy when the new moon is expected, observers are sent up in airplanes. In Pakistan, there is a "Central Ruet-e-Hilal Committee" whose head is Mufti Muneeb-ur-Rehman, which takes help from 150 observatories of the Pakistan Meteorological Department all over the country and announces the decision of sighting of new moon. But for the last 25 years, status of the "Central Ruet-e-Hilal Committee" has been very much controversial, as Mufti Muneeb-ur-Rehman always use to refuse the "Witnesses" (Shahadats) from other sects. In Iran a special committee receives observations of every new moon to determine the beginning of each month. This committee uses one hundred groups of observers.

An attempt to unify Muslims on a scientifically calculated worldwide calendar was adopted by both the Fiqh Council of North America and the European Council for Fatwa and Research in 2007. The new calculation requires that conjunction occur before sunset in Mecca, Saudi Arabia and that moon set on the following day must take place after sunset. These can be precisely calculated and therefore a unified calendar is imminent if it becomes adopted worldwide.

• The new moon is quite significant in Hindu calendar. People generally wait for new moon to start new works. Waxing period of moon is considered good for all good works. Fifteen Moon dates each for waxing and waning period are there. Fifteen dates are classified in five categories, namely Nanda, Bhadra, Jaya, Rikta and Purna and three rotations of these five categories are there. The category rotation starts from first date of moon ending at fifth date and then starting at sixth date and so on. Nanda dates come on First, Sixth and Eleventh moon date, same can be known about others. Nanda dates are good for auspicious works. Bhadra dates can be good for works related with community, social, family, friends. Jaya dates are good where we need to deal with some conflict. Rikta dates are not considered much good and do good for works related with cruelty. Purna dates are good for every work.

• The new moon is the beginning of the month in the Chinese calendar. Some Buddhist Chinese keep a vegetarian diet on the new moon and full moon each month.

• The new moon signifies the start of every Jewish month, and is considered an important date and minor holiday in the Hebrew calendar. The modern form of the calendar is a rule-based lunisolar calendar, akin to the Chinese calendar, measuring months defined in lunar cycles as well as years measured in solar cycles, and distinct from the purely lunar Islamic calendar and the almost entirely solar Gregorian calendar. According to Jewish tradition, the Jewish calendar is calculated based on mathematical rules handed down from God to Moses at the moment the command was given to make sure that Passover always falls in the springtime. More likely, this fixed lunisolar calendar was introduced by Hillel II. This calculation makes use of a mean lunation length used by Ptolemy and handed down from Babylonians (see Lunar_theory#Babylon), which is still very accurate: ca. 29.530594 days vs. a present value (see below) of 29.530589 days. This difference of only 0.0000005, or five millionths of a day, adds up to about only 4 hours since Babylonian times.

• The messianic Pentecostal group, the New Israelites of Peru, keeps the new moon as a Sabbath of rest. As an evangelical church, it follows the Bible's teachings that God sanctified the seventh-day Sabbath, and the new moons in addition to it. See Ezekiel 46:1, 3. No work may be done from dusk until dusk, and the services run for 11 hours, although a large number spend 24 hours within the gates of the temples, sleeping and singing praises throughout the night.

• The new moon is also important in astrology, as is the full moon.