{"id":33440,"date":"2026-03-06T17:35:31","date_gmt":"2026-03-06T09:35:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stuif.com\/blog\/?p=33440"},"modified":"2026-03-07T13:33:22","modified_gmt":"2026-03-07T05:33:22","slug":"calendaria","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stuif.com\/blog\/?p=33440","title":{"rendered":"Calendaria"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

On Tuesday, 17 February 2026, the Chinese Year of the Fire Horse started. The next day, Wednesday 18 February, was Ash Wednesday, the start of the Christian Lenten fasting. And on 19 February, in Malaysia, the fasting month of Ramadan started. A remarkable coincidence? On 19 February, a Facebook article was posted. If you have FB, you can read the article by clicking on the screenshot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The article states that this coincidence happened the first time since 1863 and will not happen again until 2189 It is rare because three calendars are involved: the Muslim calendar, the Chinese calendar and the Christian calendar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I am interested in calendars and have written several times about it (here<\/a> and here<\/a> and here)<\/a>, so I was interested and decided to check the statement. First, some information about the various calendars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Gregorian calendar <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Introduced by Pope Gregorius XIII in 1582, it is the globally accepted civil calendar. It is a solar calendar, 365 days with a leap day on 29 February if the year is divisible by 4 (except for century years not divisible by 400).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Islamic calendar+<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Islamic calendar is lunar, a lunar year equals 12 lunar months of 29 or 30 days, and is 11-12 days shorter than a solar year. So the lunar year moves forward through the seasons. After 33 years, it has made a complete cycle. All Islamic celebrations, like Hari Raya, Muharram, etc\/ are movable feasts.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2026 the first day of Ramadan fell on Thursday, 19 February. In the table, dates for a few more years are given. The first day of Ramadan moves forward 11-12 days each year, and in 2059, 33 years later, it falls again in February.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Year<\/td>Start of Ramadan<\/td>Commnet<\/td><\/tr>
2026<\/td>Thursday,19 February<\/td><\/td><\/tr>
2027<\/td>Monday, 8 February <\/td>11 days earler<\/td><\/tr>
2028<\/td>Friday 28 January<\/td>11 days earlier<\/td><\/tr>
2029<\/td>Tuesday, 16 January<\/td>12 days earlier<\/td><\/tr>
…..<\/td><\/td><\/td><\/tr>
2059<\/td>Friday, 14 February <\/td>33 years later<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Chinese calendar<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This calendar is lunisolar, to avoid the drifting through the seasons, every few years an extra lunar month is added. As a result the Chinese New Year is still a movable feast but with a limited range (the earliest date is 21 January, the latest date is 20 February). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2026 the Chinese New Year started on 17 February. The table shows the same years as the Ramadan table. Note that in 2026, 2027 and 2028, CNY and the start of Ramadan use the same New Moon. The 2-day difference occurs because CNY uses the astronomical New Moon, whereas in Islam, a New Moon must be SIGHTED. More in the appendix. Also note that in 2059 the start of Ramadan and CNY “coincide” again!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Year<\/td>Chinese New Year<\/td>Comment<\/td><\/tr>
2026<\/td>Tuesday, 17 February<\/td><\/td><\/tr>
2027<\/td>Saturday, 6 February<\/td>11 days earlier<\/td><\/tr>
2028<\/td>Wednesday 26 Janaury<\/td>11 days earlier <\/td><\/tr>
2029<\/td>Tuesday, 13 February<\/td>2028 was a leap year<\/td><\/tr>
…..<\/td><\/td><\/td><\/tr>
2059<\/td>Wednesday, 12 February <\/td><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Christian Calendar<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Christian calendar is often identified with the solar Gregorian calendar, but that is a bit confusing. Yes, Christmas and related events like Advent and Epiphany are celebrated on fixed dates, but Easter and related events like Lent, Pentecost, are movable feasts related to the moon cycle in a complicated way. Easter falls on the Sundayafter<\/em><\/strong> the first full<\/strong> moon on or afte<\/em><\/strong>r the Spring equinox. This leads to a window for Easter (22March-25 April) and also for the beginning of Lent, 46 days earlier, Ash Wednesday (4 February-10 March). Comparing the windows for CNY and Ash Wednesday, note that there is a partial overlap,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here is the table for Ash Wednesday. In 2026 it fell on 18 February and again a few more years are shown. Because of the complicated procedure to determine the date for Easter, date for Ash Wednesday looks quite irregular. But note that in 2059 it falls on the same day as CNY!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Year<\/td>Ash Wednesday<\/td>Comment<\/td><\/tr>
2026<\/td>Wednesday, 18 February<\/td><\/td><\/tr>
2027<\/td>Wednesday, 10 February<\/td>8 days earlier<\/td><\/tr>
2028<\/td>Wednesday, 1 March<\/td>12 days later<\/td><\/tr>
2029<\/td>Wednesday, 14 February<\/td>15 days earlier<\/td><\/tr>
……<\/td><\/td><\/td><\/tr>
2059<\/td>Wednesday, 14 February<\/td><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Combining the three calendars, we see that indeed, 2026 is special, because CNY (17 February), Ash Wednesday (18 February) and the start of Ramadan (19 February) occur within two days. According to the FB article, this is extremely rare; the next time it will happen is, according to “calendar experts”, after 163 years, in 2189. The FB message was copied many times, for example, on Instagram.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

But is it true? Look at the year 2059 in the three calendar tables. n 2059, after 33 years, CNY (12 February), Ash Wednesday (12 February), and the start of Ramadan (14 February) will occur within 2 days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The claim that the next occurrence will be in 2189 is FALSE. It will happen again in 2059.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What about 2092, another cycle of 33 years later? I checked the data, and the answer is NO. CNY falls on Thursday, 7 February, and Ramadan starts on Saturday, 9 February. But Ash Wednesday is one week later, 13 February. The “calendar experts” may be right that there is another occurrence in 2189, but they have overlooked 2059. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Appendix<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Islamic and Chinese calendars can have celebrations at the Same New Moon, but never at the same date; there is always a difference of 1 or 2 days. The reason is that both calendars define the start of a lunar month in different ways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. The astronomical New Moon is not a day, but a specific time on that day. For example, the New Moon occurred on 17 February 20:01 Malaysia time.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. The Chinese calendar uses this time. there fore, 17 February was the first day of the Year of the Horse.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. The Islamic calendar states that a new day starts at sunset and that a new lunar month starts when the new moon is visually sighted. But on 17 February at sunset, the new moon has not yet occurred, so the first sighting can only take place at sunset on 18 February, and the first day of Ramadan will be 19 February, two days later<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. It takes about 10-15 hours after the new moon for an observer to spot the first sliver of the new moon<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    I will illustrate this using data for an occurrence of CNY and Hari Raya. As Hari Raya is a major celebration for Muslims, as CNY is for the Chinese, a coincidence of the two is so special that it got its own name, Kongi Raya<\/a>. It will happen in 2029, 2030 and 2031<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Here is the table, with the times of the new moon added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Year<\/td>New Moon<\/td>Chinese New Year<\/td>Hari Rya<\/td><\/tr>
    2029<\/td>18:31<\/td>13 February<\/td>15 February<\/td><\/tr>
    2030<\/td>00:07<\/td>3 February<\/td>4 February<\/td><\/tr>
    2031<\/td>12:31<\/td>23 January<\/td>25 January<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    In 2029, the new moon occurs on 13 February at 18:31. Impossible to sight the moon, Hari Raya start two days later. One year later the new moon occurs at 00:07. That same eveing the new moon can be sighted, so Hari Ray starts at 4 Fevruary. In 2032, the new moon occurs at 12:31. Not enough time to sight the new moon at susnet, Hari Raya 25 January<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The Hindu calendar is also lunisolar, their main festival Deepavali can also occur together with Hari Raya. This is called DeepaRay<\/a>a and will happen again in 2037-2039<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    On Tuesday, 17 February 2026, the Chinese Year of the Fire Horse started. The next day, Wednesday 18 February, was Ash Wednesday, the start of the Christian Lenten fasting. And on 19 February, in Malaysia, the fasting month of Ramadan … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":33441,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[18,29],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-33440","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture","category-religion"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/stuif.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/634780871_1492588602238279_2931710919217402616_n.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2LqIR-8Hm","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stuif.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33440","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stuif.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stuif.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stuif.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stuif.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=33440"}],"version-history":[{"count":63,"href":"https:\/\/stuif.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33440\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33508,"href":"https:\/\/stuif.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33440\/revisions\/33508"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stuif.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/33441"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stuif.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=33440"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stuif.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=33440"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stuif.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=33440"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}