No radio or telegraph: How did Saudi Arabia announce Eid 100 years ago?

About 100 years ago, Saudis used to wait for the Grand Mutfi in the holy city of Mecca to make the announcement for Eid.

Back then, there was no radio or telegraph in such a big country. The only way to spread the news across was for camel riders to go from village to village and inform as many families as possible.

At times, this would leave a gap and each village would celebrate Eid on different days, reports Al Arabiya.

"In the past, each village had its own Eid, especially in remote areas; during the summer, the difference sometimes exceeded 4 days," astronomer Khalid al-Zaaq said.

"Sometimes when Eid falls around summer, camel riders would find it even more strenuous to move and spread the word," Zaaq explained.

"With the radio, the number of days has diminished, although the radio broadcast only reached the main areas and then the Eid announcement was conveyed with camel riders to nearby areas," he added.

"Those who know the villages and remote areas know that the Mutawwa [religious leaders] wers the only ones who counted the days and announced Eid despite the difficulties faced sometimes to see the crescent," he said.

People can use telescopes to see the Eid's crescent, but back in the day, such devices to see far into the sky were not attainable.

In the month of Ramadan, Muslims fast until the Eid's crescent meets the eye, heralding the coming of the new month of Shawaal. That is when cultures around the world begin to celebrate in their own fashion.

Zaaq explained that the main reason behind allowing the radio in Saudi Arabia was to share the news of Eid. It later became one of the most important means of communication between people, although not everyone had access to it.

Suleiman al-Fayez, a researcher at the Sahabi Saudi Arabian Heritage, told Al Arabiya that there are many stories about the delays in Eid celebration between one area and another, because the only available means of communication was the telegraph.

Al-Fayez told an old, funny story coming from the central Qassim region, when a village sent its messenger to the nearest hamlet, which had the telegraph to learn the exact date of Eid.

When the messenger arrived, he saw people were celebrating Eid, promoting him to celebrate with them, forgetting about his own village.

By the time the messenger returned to his own village the day after, he found out his people were still fasting.

The messenger had to celebrate his first day of Eid twice.