The start of Ramadan is usually a big guess in Saudi Arabia.
According to Sharia, the Islamic law, a crescent of the new moon that signals the beginning of a month must be spotted. Nowadays, this is done by technology at the General Authority of Metrology and Environment in Jeddah. In addition, the government encourages citizens to search in the skies for the crescent. Once a person believes to have seen it, he or she can go to the nearest judge and give evidence of the sighting of the new moon. Usually, it is seen after sunset and announced after the last prayer.
This counted as the sole proof for the start of Ramadan until a decade. Nowadays, the technology used by the authorities is considered more acceptable. This is because there have been a few mistakes in the past when people have wrongly claimed to have seen the crescent, which added to unnecessary days of fasting.
Ramadan and the Eid Al Fitr (days of public holiday and the equivalent to Christmas) mean family gatherings, invitations, lots of food and more expenditure.
Preparations are in full swing. There is always something left for the last minute.
They always seem to never come at the right time, like all celebrations.
