zlacker

>>asim+(OP)
I was unaware until this year that it was based on when the moon was _sighted_, not just on a conventional lunar calendar. This leads to very short notice public holidays in a couple of countries AIUI.

>>rsynno+Xv1
I'm muslim but I never understood why that is the case. Surely the lunar calendar/phases/characteristics must be easy to reliably predict?

>>mardif+fX1
Moon 'sighting' is much earlier than the Islamic tradition. It's discussed in the Mishna, so it was at least debated in the 2nd century CE: https://www.sefaria.org/Mishnah_Rosh_Hashanah.2?lang=bi

The charitable case is that while something might be predictable, it's our conscious interaction that's important to these religions, not the theoretical knowledge.

The uncharitable case is that religions derive a lot of power from being able to fix time, and this demonstrates their sovereignty over people's lives in this sphere.