New Moons and the First Month of the Year
   Every 29 or 30 days, a thin, scimtar-shaped moon appears in the western sky known as the visible "new moon." This crescent or new moon plays a very important part in determining the Feast Days Yahweh has ordained.
   Deuteronomy 16:1 tells us to "observe the month [Hebrew = new moon] of Abib." In plain language it is telling us to visibly watch for the first moon of the new year. That moon comes in the month of Abib, meaning "green ears" (of barley), in the spring of the year about the time of the vernal equinox. Why?
   Yahweh's new year starts when the barley is yet green and in the ear. His year begins when the earth comes to life in the spring with the greening of barley, which sets the start for His annual Feasts.
   Some churches merely calculate these times without visibly verifying their appearance and thus can have the wrong dates for observing Yahweh's Feast Days.

Watching for the New Moon in Ancient Days
   During and prior to the time of the Messiah there were no telescopes or other aids available as today. So we take Yahweh at His command and search the western sky with the naked eye at the time the moon should be visible. In doing so we strive to keep the Feasts when ancient Israel, the Messiah, and His disciples did.
   In Genesis 1:14 Yahweh set in motion the heavenly bodies to establish the times and seasons. The Hebrew for seasons is "moed," but does not mean the four seasons of the year. Rather, moed means "appointed times" relative to His Feasts, as found in Exodus 34:22-23 and Deuteronomy 16. Yahweh has appointed specific times when He meets with His people.
   Anciently, at the arrival of the new moon, a meal was apparently kept in celebration and observance of that special day, 1Samuel 20:5-18; 27-34. The people were alerted to the appearance of the new moon, but it was not a holy day or Sabbath.
   Society's present calendar is actually a solar calendar from Egypt in which the new moons are not intended to begin the month. Our secular calendar completely ignores the new moons, which fall anywhere in the month. During any given year two new moons may fall within a single month in our secular, Roman-Gregorian calendar. Strangely enough, the word "month" derives from "moon." Our culture sets months ("moons") by a calendar that ignores the moon!

New Moon Establishes Feast Days
   David shows that the new moon was appointed for the festival seasons in Psalm 104:19. Isaiah points out that the new moon will be kept as the time to set Yahweh's Feasts in the future Millennium, Isaiah 66:23: "And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another and from one Sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before Me, says Yahweh."
   We usually observe the new moons with a Bible study to memorialize and acknowledge the beginning of a new month of Yahweh's calendar. However, the new moons are not annual Sabbaths, and not a sacred time, except for the new moon of the seventh month, which is known as the Feast of Trumpets.
   Church-secular holidays such as Hallowe'en, All Saints' Day, Christmas, New Year's, and Valentine's come during the year irrespective of the moon. These holidays are in the cold, winter season.
   But Yahweh's Feasts are seasonal, and at a pleasant time of the year. All of Yahweh's Feast days take place in the cool spring or fall weather. Insect pests are minimal at His Feasts. Contrast this with many churches that hold extrabiblical "camp-meetings" in the hot summer months of July or August.
   The week of Unleavened Bread always begins with a full moon (as does Tabernacles), which means the obedient brethren could always fellowship well into the night, being that electricity was lacking anciently.
   We must not neglect the new moons even though they are not Holy Days. Moons are the sign Yahweh gave us that enables us to observe special days at the proper time, and thus to worship Him properly. What could be a better place for such a reminder than the sky?
   Yahweh's Assembly in Yahshua publishes a calendar each year showing when the new moons will be visible so that we can determine His Feast days (see calendar). We as moon-watchers diligently seek the new moon so that the Feast Days will not come upon us unawares. We should be looking ahead to the Feast Days and making plans to observe all seven of them throughout the year.


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