Happy New Year

Muslims are the only group of which I am aware who use a purely lunar calendar. Most calendars are solar/lunar, with each month starting around the new moon, but the year starting around some solstice or equinox. Before Islam, the Arabs used a solar/lunar calendar, with the new year starting sometime around the autumnal equinox, but Islam dropped the solar part, so a month is the time from one crescent moon to the next, and a year is 12 months.

And today is the first day of the first month of the year, New Year's Day, or Al Hijra, commemorating the Prophet's journey from Mecca to Medina.

However, Dubai will celebrate New Year's on the third. Rather like, if, when Jan 1 came on a Wednesday, the West celebrated on Friday, Jan 3 to get a long weekend.

Only the West doesn't do that. Jan 1 is Jan 1. Here, however, New Year's has been moved from 1 Muharram to 3 Muharram, a Wednesday, to lengthen the normal Thursday/Friday weekend.

So either today, tomorrow, or Wednesday, Happy New Year.

And, of course, yesterday was Chinese New Year, but when I called, the authentic Chinese restaurants in Dubai weren't doing Chinese New Year. Some of the faux Chinese had their idea of what a Chinese New Year should be, but I didn't bother. Still, happy year of the dog.