New Moons are important in their own right, but this one has quite the set of synchronicities.
First, this is of course, the second New Moon since the winter solstice, thus it is the start of the Chinese (Lunar) New Year1. And so begins the Year of the Horse, which occurs every 12 years. However, this year is an uncommon Year of the Horse, as it is the Year of the Fire Horse, which involves combining the Chinese Zodiac cycle with the Chinese elemental cycle. This occurs every 60 years.
At the same time, it is the beginning of Ramadan2, which occurs every 12 lunar months and thus rotates around the solar calendar.
Chinese New Year and Ramadan generally coincide about every 12 years on average; however, the “on average” is important. Because Chinese New Year is tied to the winter solstice and always falls in an ~31 day window in January through February, most years a coincidence would be impossible, if Ramadan is not during that window. The math is hard due to having to calculate relationships between the winter solstice and the New Moon, while also checking to see if it’s Ramadan, and then there are the unusual cases where Chinese New Year falls on the third new moon1. However, rough calculations suggest that the Year of the Horse and Ramadan have likely coincided only around 10 times since the beginning of the Islamic Epoch, and that Ramadan and the Year of the Fire Horse have coincided only two times previously, ever (likely 886 C.E. and 1246 C.E., though this introduces even more difficulties due to the transition from the Julian Calendar to the Gregorian Calendar in 1582 C.E.).
And then it’s Shrove Tuesday. Shrove Tuesday 886 C.E. appears to have fallen approximately one lunar month later. Shrove Tuesday 1246 C.E. was during the same lunation as the coincidence of Chinese New Year and Ramadan, though apparently about a day later than the New Moon, though that’s probably close enough to count.
If that weren’t enough for you, there is also an annular eclipse this year3, which as far as I can determine, did not occur on either the corresponding New Moons of 886 C.E. or of 1246 C.E.
These synchronicities remind us of the interconnected cycles that connect us across human cultures.
From time to time, the Chinese New Year begins on the third new moon after the winter solstice due to leap months. However, this is not such a year. ↩︎ ↩︎
Ramadan officially begins when the crescent moon is visible under certain conditions, not the astronomical moment that the New Moon begins. However, as of this writing, the siting of the crescent moon has already been confirmed in many Muslim nations, so Ramadan begins the evening of the 17th. ↩︎
The solar eclipse of February 2026 C.E. is only visible in the southern hemisphere and is only annular in Antarctica. ↩︎