HOLY DAYS, ANNIVERSARIES AND THE CALENDAR

THE OBSERVANCE OF BAHÁ’Í HOLY DAYS

The assembly should help the believers to look upon the Holy Days as the most important days of the year. They should plan their lives according to the pattern and rhythm of these days, endeavouring to discover ways each year by which they may commemorate them more befittingly.

‘Abdúl-Báhá said that every cycle and dispensation has its Holy Days when work is suspended and the time is given over to the expression of “oneness, unity and harmony”. He reminded the friends that such days should never be wasted and given over to mere rest from work or aimless pleasure.

“…Undoubtedly, the friends of God, upon such a day, must leave tangible, philanthropic or ideal traces that should reach all mankind and not only pertain to the Bahá'ís.”(‘Abdúl-Báhá, Star of the West, Vol.IX No.1, p.9)

The Assembly should help its community both individually and collectively to become increasingly aware of the importance of the Holy Days. Individuals should suspend work on these days and use the time profitably by increasing their personal prayers and teaching efforts as well as by joining wholeheartedly in the befitting commemorations organised by their Assembly. Such commemorations are not limited to the holding of devotional meetings but can and should include the undertaking of projects and services which will reflect well on the Bahá'í community.

It should be noted that the National offices are closed on Bahá'í Holy Days and the staff and employees do not work on these days. As the Bahá'í day begins at sunset the offices may close early the day before.

OBSERVANCE OF CHRISTIAN HOLIDAYS

“ As regards the celebration of the Christian Holidays by the believers; it is surely preferable and even highly advisable that the friends should in their relation to each other discontinue observing such holidays as Christmas and New Year, and to have their festival gatherings of this nature instead during the Intercalary Days and Naw-Rúz….”(Shoghi Effendi, letter dated 19 March 1939. To an individual believer)

Nevertheless in their relations with their non-Bahá'í relatives and others, the Bahá'ís should practise courtesy remembering Christ as a Manifestation of God.

THE OBLIGATION TO SUSPEND WORK ON THE NINE BAHA’I HOLY DAYS

“ In the Kitáb-I-Aqdas Bahá’u’lláh establishes the festivals of Ridván (on the first, ninth and twelfth days of which work is to be suspended), the Declaration of the Báb, the Birthday of the Báb, the Birthday of Bahá’u’lláh, and Naw-Rúz. In the days of Bahá’u’lláh the Martyrdom of the Báb was also commemorated and ‘Abdúl-Báhá added the observance of the Ascension of Bahá’u’lláh as a corollary to these Holy Days, making nine in all”. (Quoted in the Synopsis and Codification of the Kitáb-I-Aqdas, Note 29 p.62)

“He wishes also to stress the fact that, according to our Bahá'í laws, work is forbidden on our nine Holy Days. Believers who have independent businesses or shops should refrain from working on these days.

Those who are in government employment should, on religious grounds, make an effort to be excused from work; all believers, whoever their employers, should do likewise. If the government, or other employers, refuse to grant them these days off, they are not required to forfeit their employment, but they should make every effort to have the independent status of their Faith recognised and their right to hold their own religious Holy Days acknowledged.” (Letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi, dated 7 July 1947, to the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States of America and Canada, Lights of Guidance,p.154)

“Regarding children: at fifteen a Bahá'í is of age as far as keeping the laws of the Aqdas is concerned prayer, fasting, etc., but children under fifteen should certainly observe the Bahá'í Holy Days, and not go to school, if this can be arranged on these nine Days.” (Letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi, dated 25 October 1947, to the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States [and Canada], Lights of Guidance p.154)

In England and Wales, by the Education Reform Act 1948, S.2, a Bahá'í parent has the right to keep his child from school on Bahá'í Holy Days. Elsewhere in the United Kingdom, parents must seek permission from the head teacher of the school.

A BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF EACH HOLY DAY

Naw-Rúz

Naw-Rúz, literally “New Day”, is the Bahá'í New Year. “It has been decided that until the Universal House of Justice fixes the meridian, the friends in the West should observe Naw-Rúz on the 21st day of March each year according to the Gregorian calendar…regardless of the date and the hour of the vernal equinox.” (Universal House of Justice, letter dated 28 October 1971, to the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States of America)

“…. The Naw-Rúz Feast should be held on March 21 before sunset and has nothing to do with the Nineteen Day Feast. The Nineteen Day Feast is administrative in function whereas the Naw- Rúz is our New Year, a Feast of hospitality and rejoicing.” (Letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi, dated 5 July 1950, to the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States of America), Lights of Guidance p.301

The First, Ninth, and Twelfth Days of Ridván, 21 April, 29 April and 2 May 1863

From 21 April 1863 to 2 May 1863, prior to His journey to Constantinople, Bahá’u’lláh stayed in a garden outside Baghdad, on the banks of the Tigris. Thereafter this garden was called the Garden of “Ridván” (meaning “Paradise”). It was in this Garden, that He declared Himself to be the promised One of all ages.

“As to the significance of that Declaration let Bahá’u’lláh Himself reveal to us its import. Acclaiming that historic occasion as the ‘Most Great Festival’, the King of Festivals’, the ’Festival of God’, He has, in His Kitáb-I-Aqdas, characterised it as the Day whereon ‘all created things were immersed in the sea of purification….” (Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By, pp.153-4)

The entire period of twelve days is known as the Ridván Festival.

The Declaration of the Báb, 23 May 1844

On this day, at about two hours after sunset, in an upper chamber of His house in Shiráz, the Báb revealed to Mulla’ Husayn that He was the promised Qa’im.

“With this historic Declaration the dawn of an Age that signalises the consummation of all ages had broken. The first impulse of a momentous Revelation had been communicated to the one ‘but for whom’ according to the testimony of the Kitáb-I-Iqá’n, God would not have been established upon the seat of His mercy, nor ascended the throne of eternal glory’.” (Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By p.7)

Abdu’l-Baha’ was born in Tihrán on the same evening that the Báb revealed His mission in Shiráz, but Abdúl-Báhá instructed that this day was not under any circumstances to be celebrated as His day of birth (see below, “Day of the Covenant”).

Ascension of Bahá’u’lláh, 29 May 1892

Bahá’u’lláh’s earthly life came to an end in the Mansion of Bahjí, at about 3 am. It is customary to say the Tablet of Visitation during the commemoration of this Anniversary (see p.33 of “Bahá'í prayers for Special Occasions).

“With the Ascension of Bahá’u’lláh draws to a close a period which, in many ways, is unparalleled in the world’s religious history. The first century of the Bahá'í era had by now run half its course. An epoch, unsurpassed in its sublimity, its fecundity and duration, by any previous Dispensation, and characterised, except for a short interval of three years, by half a century of progressive Revelation, had terminated. The Message proclaimed by the Báb had yielded its golden fruit. The most momentous, though not the most spectacular phase of the Heroic Age had ended. The Sun of Truth, the world’s greatest Luminary, had risen in the Síyáh- Chál of Tihrán, had broken through the clouds which enveloped it in Baghdad, had suffered a momentary eclipse whilst mounting to its zenith in Adrianople and set finally in ‘Akká, never to reappear ere the lapse of a full millennium”. (Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By, p.223)

The Martyrdom of the Báb, 9 July 1850

The Báb, together with one of His disciples, Mirza’ Muhammad ‘Ali-i-Zanu’zi, surnamed Anis, were executed by firing squad in the barracks square in the city of Tabriz, at about midday. “ It (the Martyrdom of the Báb) can… be regarded in no other light except as the most dramatic, the most tragic event transpiring within the entire range of the first century. Indeed it can be rightly acclaimed as unparalleled in the annals of the lives of all the Founders of the world’s existing religious systems.” (Shoghi Effendi, God passes By, p.55)

The Birth of the Báb, 20 October 1819

The Ba'b was born in Shiráz. His father was Siyyid Muhammad-Rizá, a dealer in textile fabrics in that city. His mother was Fátimih-Bagum. Through both His father and His mother He was descended from Ima’m Husayn, the third Ima’m. Thus He stood in direct line of descent from the Prophet Muhammad.

The Birth of Bahá’u’lláh, 12 November 1817

Mirzá Husayn-Áli, later entitled Bahá’u’lláh, was born in Tihra’n. He was the son of Mirzá‘Abbás and Khadijih.

“… He derived His descent, on the one hand, from Abraham (the Father of the Faithful) through his wife Katurah, and on the other from Zoroaster, as well as from Yazdigird, the last king of the Sasaniyan dynasty. He was moreover a descendant of Jesse, and belonged through His father, Mirzá ‘Abbás, better known as Mirzá Buzurgh nobleman closely associated with the ministerial circles of the Court of Fath-‘Ali Sháh-to one of the most ancient and renowned families of Mazindarán.” ( Shoghi Effendi, Guidance for Today and Tomorrow, p.13)

THE TIMING OF COMMEMORATION OF HOLY DAYS AND ANNIVERSARIES

“The Guardian would advise that, if feasible, the friends should commemorate certain of the Feast and Anniversaries at the following time:

 The Anniversary of the Declaration of the Báb on 22 May, at about two hours after sunset.  The first day of Ridván, at about 3 p.m. on 21 April.  The Anniversary of the Martyrdom of the Báb on 9 July, at about noon. ä The Anniversary of the Ascension of Bahá’u’lláh on 29 May, at 3 am. ä The Ascension of Abdúl-Bahá on 28 November, at 1 am.

On other anniversaries the believers are free to gather at any time during the day which they find convenient.” (Letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi dated 27 November 1938)

“Regarding your question of the proper time to celebrate or hold our meetings of commemoration: the time should be fixed by counting after sunset; the Master passed away one hour after midnight, which falls a certain number of hours after sunset; so His passing should be commemorated according to the sun and regardless of daylight saving time. The same applies to the Ascension of Bahá’u’lláh, who passed away about eight hours after sunset”(Shoghi Effendi, Principles of Baha’i Administration, p.56

COMMEMORATION OF OTHER BAHA’I ANNIVERSARIES

“The Day of the Covenant, 26 November, and the Day of the Ascension, 28 November, anniversaries of the birth and Ascension of ‘Abdu’l-Baha’ must be observed by the friends coming together, but work is not prohibited. In other words the friends must regard observance of these two anniversaries as obligatory – but suspension of work is not to be regarded as obligatory.” (Letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi, dated 21 January 1951, to the National Spiritual Assembly of Australia and New Zealand, Light of Guidance, p.365)

The Day of the Covenant, 26 November

“Abdúl-Báhá told the Bahá'ís that 23rd May was not, under any circumstances, to be celebrated as His day of birth. It was the Declaration of the Báb, exclusively associated with Him. But as the Bahá’is begged for a day to be celebrated as His, He gave them November 26th, to be observed as the day of the appointment of the Centre of the Covenant. It was known as jashni-A’Zam – (The Greatest Festival), because He was Ghusn-i A’zam – (The Greatest Branch). In the West it is known as the ‘Day of the Covenant.’ ”

The Ascension of ‘Abdúl-Báhá, 28th November 1921

‘Abdúl-Báhá passed away at 1 am in Haifa. “Thus was brought to a close the ministry of One Who was the incarnation, by virtue of the rank bestowed upon Him by His Father, of an institution that has no parallel in the entire field of religious history, a ministry that marks the final stage in the Apostolic, the Heroic and most glorious Age of the Dispensation of Bahá’u’lláh.” ”(Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By, p.314)

THE BAHÁÍ CALENDAR

THE BAHÁ'Í DAY “ The Bahá'í day starts and ends at sunset….” (Shoghi Effendi, Principles of Bahá'í Administration, p.56)

Each day has one name as a day of the week and another as a day in the month.

THE BAHÁ'Í WEEK The Bahá'í week is of seven days named as follows: -

Arabic English Gregorian Days Name 1st Jalál Glory Saturday 2nd Jamál Beauty Sunday 3rd Kamál Perfection Monday 4th Fidál Grace Tuesday 5th ‘Idál Justice Wednesday 6th Istijlál Majesty Thursday 7th Istiqlál Independent Friday

The Bahá'í Month The Bahá'í month is nineteen days. The names given by the Báb are attributes of God. The name of the first day of the month is the same as the name of the first month of the year, and so on. The names of the months are as follows:

Arabic English Month Name First Day 1st Bahá Splendour 21 March

2nd Jalál Glory 9 April

3rd Jamál Beauty 28 April

4th Azamat Grandeur 17 May

5th Núr Light 5 June

6th Rahmat Mercy 24 June

7th Kalimál Words 13 July

8th Kamál Perfection 1 August

9th Ásmá Names 20 August

10th Ízzat Might 9 September

11th Mashiyyat Will 27 September

12th Ílm Knowledge 16 October

13th Qudrat Power 4 November

14th Qawl Speech 23 November

15th Masáil Questions 12 December

16th Sharaf Honour 31 December

17th Sultán Sovereignty 19 January

18th Mulk Dominion 7 February

19th Álá Loftiness 2 March

THE BAHÁ'Í YEAR

The Bahá'í year is of nineteen months plus four intercalary days (or five every fourth year) to make up the solar year. The Báb named New Year’s Day (Naw-Rúz) as the day of Bahá of the month of Bahá. The first Naw-Rúz was that of 1261 AH(1845 AD) after the Declaration of the Báb in 1260 AH (1844 AD). He ordained the last month, Álá, to be the month of fasting. In the Kitáb-i- Aqdas, Bahá’u’lláh makes it clear that the four or five intercalary days come immediately before the month of fasting.

“AYYÁM-I-HA” –THE INTERCALARY DAYS The Intercalary Days, which come just before the period of fasting, are specially devoted to hospitality to friends, the giving of presents and ministering to the poor and sick.

THE BAHÁ'Í DATE “It is advisable to use both the Bahá'í dates, according to the Bahá'í calendar, and the usual Gregorian dates as well. The friends are at present free to do as they please. “(Shoghi Effendi, Principles of Bahá'í Administration, p.16-17)

VAHID AND KULL-I-SHAY’

The Báb divided the years following the date of His revelation into cycles of nineteen years each. Each cycle is called Vahid. Each of the nineteen years in cycle has a name. Nineteen cycles constitute a period called Kull-I-Shay’. (Bahá'í World, Vol.XIII p.601)