Ramadan will fall twice in 2030, so Muslims will have the chance to fast twice in the same year. The rare event is caused by the difference between the Islamic and Gregorian calendars, the UAE-based Gulf News has reported.
Because the Islamic calendar is about 11 days shorter than the Gregorian one, Ramadan begins earlier each year. As a result, in 2030 the first Ramadan will begin on 5 January (in the Hijri year 1451) and the second on 26 December (at the start of 1452), according to the report. Muslims will fast about 36 days that year: 30 days in January and another six at the end of December.
The Gregorian calendar follows the Earth’s orbit around the sun, while the Islamic calendar follows the lunar cycle. A lunar year has 354 days, about 11 days fewer than a solar year, so over time the Islamic months move through all four seasons in a cycle of roughly 33 years. The report says the last such double Ramadan was in 1997, and after 2030 it will happen again in 2063.
For Muslims, fasting from dawn to sunset is both a religious obligation and a means of spiritual purification. How it is experienced varies greatly with the season: winter fasts are shorter, while in summer the fast can last more than 17 hours in some regions.
Although astronomical calculation can predict when Ramadan will start, the official start is set by sighting the moon. Saudi Arabia and many other Muslim countries rely on the traditional sighting, while many others use scientific methods to set the date.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report