Although Ramadan has just passed, we are already looking forward to the next, not only because it is the perfect time to pause, reflect, and eliminate bad habits but also because of the Ramadan bazaars and the lead-up to Hari Raya!
However, would you believe us if we told you that there will be two Ramadans which fall within the same year (according to the Gregorian calendar) in 2030?
Ramadan in 2030
In 2030, Ramadan will fall twice within the same calendar year—first in January and then again in December. This totals around 36 days of fasting, with the first 30 days at the start of the year and the remaining six days at the end of the year.
When Ramadan falls, it depends on the lunar calendar and moon cycles. The Islamic calendar is lunar, which means that the calendar dates shift by approximately days because lunar years are shorter.
This isn’t entirely unique, as the lunar month advances by 11 days annually. The last time there were two Ramadans in the same year was 1997, and the next time it will happen after 2030 will be in 2063, meaning there is a 33-year gap between each occurrence.
Gongxi Raya
When you think things couldn’t get more festive, Hari Raya Aidilfitri will coincide with the Chinese New Year in 2029, 2030, and 2031.
The festive occurrence is often dubbed Gongxi Raya or Kongsi Raya. For each of those three years, the first day of Raya occurs within the next few days after the Chinese New Year.
Image Credit: NST, BBC
This occurrence is again due to the matching of the Islamic calendar, which has a year of 354 days following the moon's cycles, with the Chinese hybrid lunisolar calendar, which has 354 days.
This is also not an entirely new occurrence; it occurs every 30 years. The last Gongxi Raya occurred in 1996, 1997, and 1998.
For more information on the exact dates, click here.
Featured Image Credit: Remaja, MalaysiaNow