The sun and the moon: the eclipse and the Islamic New Year

While northern Australia in the southern hemisphere had a rare perfect view of the total eclipse of the sun on November 13/14, I am in the northern hemisphere. The solar eclipse crossed the International Date Line so it occurred on the 13^th in some countries and on the 14^th in Australia. It lasted for about four minutes, unlike last year’s lunar eclipse that I witnessed from Pakistan which lasted an hour.

Currently I'm in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq where it's the celebrations for the 2012 Islamic New Year. On November 15 it is the first day of Muharrum. While astrologically it is a solar eclipse, during which the moon passes between the earth and the sun, darkening the earth, religiously it is the Islamic New Year based on a lunar calendar, and potentially a bright time for all. Therefore the New Year commences when the moon is sighted.

The lunar calendar contains 12 months as does other calendars, but the year is calculated by multiplying 12 by 29.53 which is 354.36 days and shorter than the Gregorian calendar which has 365.24 days (and 366 in a leap year).

The New Year is a time for special prayers for health, happiness, and good fortune in the coming year. Many people will be fortunate to take their pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia while others celebrate at home with family and friends.

So in Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan Regional Government, where their typical weekend is Friday and Saturday, there will be a long weekend from Thursday November 15 to Saturday November 17. Government offices resume on Sunday.

The photos are of Erbil, looking across the city.

http://www.123newyear.com/2012/islamic-new-year.html

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