Faith and the Moon: Why astronomy dates Lent and Ramadan

Описание: Ever wondered why the moon plays such a huge role in the calendar? Many religious festivities and commemorations are determined by lunar cycles, including Lent and Ramadan.

We brought together Dr Seb Falk of ‪@girtoncollege‬ and Imad Ahmed of ‪@queenscollegecam‬ to discuss the similarities and differences in how Christian and Islamic scholars determine the dates of Easter and Eid. They also address the ongoing debates within the faiths, as different churches and mosques choose different solutions to millennia-old questions.

Thank you to ‪@NewCrescentSociety‬ and ‪@CambridgeCentralMosque‬ for allowing us to use their footage.

Learn more about the Moonsighters Academy here: https://www.cam.ac.uk/stories/guided-...

1:02 What is Lent?
1:31 Explaining the lunar visibility calendar of Islam
3:00 Contrast between how Christianity and Islam observe the moon
4:46 How Ramadan starts depending on local lunar calendar
5:41 Why Ramadan moves through the year
6:56 Foundations of the Christian calendar
8:37 The challenge of calculating lunar and solar cycles
9:51 Trying to make sense of the incompatible
11:21 Lent and Ramadan coinciding in 2026 and the interfaith elements
12:48 Spiritual purification across faiths
13:49 What the Gregorian calendar achieved
14:36 How Imad is trying to unify British dates for Ramadan
18:22 How debates are settled and kept going
20:30 How to spot the new crescent moon