MAYSAN — In the mountainous villages of Maysan Governorate, elderly residents recall memories of Ramadan in the 1930s when the start of the holy month was confirmed solely by the naked eye.Sharifah bint Atiyah Al-Thaqafi, nearly a century old and a resident of Lykah village in the Thaqif Center, recounted that long before modern technology and unified official announcements, the arrival of Ramadan was determined through direct visual sighting of the crescent moon. **media[2665037]** Speaking to the Saudi Press Agency during a visit to her village, Al-Thaqafi said that as sunset approached, men and their children would climb nearby elevations, including the peaks of the Shahdan Mountains, scanning the horizon for the first glimpse of the moon. Women remained at home preparing iftar and suhoor while awaiting confirmation in an atmosphere marked by quiet supplication.Once the crescent was sighted, celebrations echoed across the villages. Residents exchanged congratulations, lit firewood atop mountain summits and chanted takbir and poetry to relay the news to neighboring communities.The traditions, she said, reflected a strong social fabric rooted in cooperation and shared experience. The sighting of the crescent extended beyond a religious observance to become a unifying moment that set the rhythm for family gatherings, nightly prayers and communal iftar and suhoor meals throughout Ramadan.Today, methods for observing the crescent have evolved. Madis Al-Thaqafi, spokesperson for the Majardah Thaqif Astronomical Observatory, said that reliance on direct visual sighting has gradually been complemented by astronomical telescopes, digital imaging and specialized computational tools that provide greater precision in tracking the moon’s formation.Despite these advances, elders’ recollections in Maysan remain a living record of a time when religious practice was deeply interwoven with daily life.The tradition of crescent sighting continues to symbolize continuity between generations, linking present practices with longstanding customs that shaped the community’s collective identity in welcoming the holy month.