New Moon Day and New Year Day

Calendation Comparisons

     Does the calendar you keep match that which was followed by our Messiah? Below you will find a table compiling various New Moon and New Year declarations from the end of 1997 until the present. I have set the information into three columns as follows:

Israel sightings -  This is actually the 2nd of the columns in the table below, but I address it here first because it is the plumbline. It is placed in the midst of the table below for ease of comparison with the other two systems. This column records the dates of confirmed waxing crescent New Moon sightings in the Land of Israel.

U.S.A. sightings -  This column refers to sightings of the new crescent here in the United States.  As one should see below, there may be days when the moon is sighted here in the U.S. previous to a sighting in Israel. These early sightings are more often seen only in the western states (i.e., Texas, Arizona, etc.), but can occur across the whole of the United States. This method, at times then, leads to people keeping the festivals a day earlier than the brethren in Israel. Any time that the crescent first appears west of Israel will lead to such a discrepancy.

People who accept these sightings follow the "local observation" method.  "Local observation" is generally not restricted to the U.S., but simply refers to sighting the fresh crescent anywhere in the world (as opposed to just Israel), and declaring it New Moon day. I give this column the appellation of "U.S.A. sightings" however, as that is our locale and the locale of most of our readers.

molad -  The Calculated Rabbinic Calendar (hereafter known as "CRC"), contrary to what some may think, is not truly based on first visibilty of the moon after conjunction--it is based on the "molad." This Hebrew word means "birth," but the term in rabbinical calculated calendar usage refers to the average conjunction of the earth, moon, and sun (average length being 29.53059 days). The molad is not determined solely by finding the means conjunction however, as it is also affected by use of the Four Rules of Postponements. The molad may occur on the actual astronomical new moon (i.e., conjunction), but these two terms are not interchangable.  The molad may also occur upon the first day of crescent visibility, or yet within a few days on either side of it (as evidenced in the chart below). In short, the molad is not consistent with any set phase of the lunar cycle.

     I'm well aware that the New Moon is defined by yet others in phases different from those stated above (actual conjunction; conjunction postponed one day; full moon; etc.), but it is not the point of this paper to address those at this time. The main object here is to illustrate that the CRC does not actually calculate the New Moon--specifically, it does not match the method of crescent observation that was in use in the time of Messiah. The U.S.A. sightings are included to illustrate that they too would be off from the days that Messiah would have been keeping in Israel when He walked the earth.

     Aside from differences in New Moon declaration, another distinction exists between these systems of calendation which will also be recorded below. This distinction is the means of the identifying factor for the start of the New Year. I will briefly explain below the three systems most often employed to ascertain the New Year.

The Metonic Cycle

     The CRC utilizes a form of the 19 year cycle discovered by Greek astronomer Meton (5th century BCE) to calculate the number of months in any given year, and thus, each year's start.

     The solar year, being approximately 365 days long, runs 11 days longer than the lunar year (12 lunar months equal about 354 days). This would lead to the months moving backward in the solar year over time. For after 3 years, the lunar year and solar would fall out of sync to the point where the solar year would be about 33 days (a whole lunar cycle) ahead of the lunar year (which would be falling behind 11 days per year). Thus, April (for a simple example) would assume the place of March after three years. Another three years would have April moving to the position of February, and yet another three years would place it in January's slot. And so on. And so on.

     Enter Meton. Meton had determined that 235 lunar cycles correlated almost exactly with 19 solar years. 235 lunar cycles, however, were 7 more lunar cycles than would occur within 19 solar years if the corresponding 19 lunar years were limited to 12 lunar cycles each. Thus 7 years within each 19 year cycle had to have an extra month inserted to keep the lunar and solar cycles in sync. Meton added the extra month in solar years 3, 5, 8, 11, 13, 16, and 19 of his cycle. In the Jewish form of this cycle however, every 3rd, 6th, 8th, 11th, 14th, 17th, and 19th year is counted as an intercalary year wherein a 13th month of 30 days is inserted.

The Vernal Equinox

     Another method used to determine the start of the year is to simply begin the year on the first New Moon on or after the Vernal (i.e., "Spring") Equinox. This method is most often utilized by those who use "local observation" for the New Moon declaration, although some who hold to solely Israel-based sightings also use the vernal equinox for determining the New Year.

The Abib/Aviv

     Abib (or, more accurately, aviv) is the appellation given to the first month of the year in the Scriptures (Exodus 12:1,2; 13:3,4). It is given this name due to the fact that the barley crop is aviv (which is reference to a certain stage of growth) by the midst of this lunation (Exodus 9:31 "in the ear" = aviv). The barley crop was used for the "wavesheaf" offering during the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and had to be ready for that day of harvest. The year could not have begun if the barley was not ready for the offering.

     This is the ancient method used and can be verified by both Scripture and history. Simply, with this method, the head of the year is identified by the first New Moon when the barley in Israel is found to be aviv in time for the "wavesheaf" offering.

     These factors and the head of the years that they mark each year will be identified below in the following manners:

NY-E - New Year Equinox reckoning. The dates demarked NY-E are those of the first New Moon sighted on or after the vernal (i.e., Spring) equinox.

NY-A - New Year Abib reckoning. The dates demarked NY-A are those of the first New Moon sighted after the barley crop in Israel is found to be in the stage of growth known in Hebrew as abib.

NY-M - New Year Metonic Cycle reckoning. The dates demarked NY-M are those determined simply and solely upon a calculated 19 year time cycle.

     And now, on to the comparison table.

Calendation Comparison Chart