Baha'i Holy Days

[arthra]

The next major Baha'i Holy Day will be an observance by the world Baha'i community of the anniversary of the Martyrdom of the Bab which occurred 7/9/1850 .... Work and school is suspended and the community gathers for prayers at noon on the 9th of July.

There are many parallels between the martyrdom of the Bab and the Gospel version of the crucifixion of Christ... The Bab was thirty years old and His mission was about six years in duration... There was a trial which was similar in some ways to the reported Sanhedrin where Jesus was convicted... The Bab was elevated on a post in a court yard of a carravansery... and there was an odd event associated with the execution.... A regiment fired a volley of bullets and when the smoke cleared, the Bab was no where to be seen. He was later found finishing a conversation He had with a bekliever nearby... but the crowd watching the execution was unnerved by this and a new regiment had to be found to carry the execution forward.

A young man who was a disciple of the Bab stepped forward and insisted n being executed with Him ...so he was positioned over the heart of His Beloved and executed along with Him... Their remains were cast into the Tabriz mote and overnight the Bab's disciples took them and hid them for some fifty years...later the remains were placed in the Shrine of the Bab on Mount Carmel.

For more information see

http://bahai-library.com/books/dawnb...apters/23.html

- Art

[smkolins]

Originally Posted by arthra

The next major Baha'i Holy Day will be an observance by the world Baha'i community of the anniversary of the Martyrdom of the Bab which occurred 7/9/1850 .... Work and school is suspended and the community gathers for prayers at noon on the 9th of July.

There is also an interesting cached newspaper story about this and related information.

[arthra]

  2500.12 in reply to 2500.11 
November 12th is the observed by Baha'is as a Holy Day commemorating the Birth of Baha'u'llah. So work and school are suspended and Baha'is and their friends gather for prayers and socializing.

The Birth of the Abhá Beauty [Bahá'u'lláh] was at the hour of dawn on the second day of the month of Muharram [first month of the Islamic lunar calendar] or November 12, 1817 in the Gregorian calendar.

Bahá'u'lláh was born on November 12, 1817, two years before the Báb, Whose revelation set the stage for His own. As with the Báb, there are no elaborate traditions surrounding His birth. He was born Husayn Alíy-i-Núrí in Tehran. His father was Mírzá Abbás Núrí, also known as Mírzá Buzurg, a prominent and wealthy man who had been a minister at the court of Fath-'Alí Sháh and subsequently the governor of Burujird and Luristan.

[arthra]

The Day of the Covenant (November 26)

Baha'is observe this day to remember the Covenant of Baha'u'llah with us. It is not a day though where we suspend work or school activities:

'Abdu'l-Bahá was born on May 23, 1844, the very day that the Báb declared His mission to Mullá Husayn. Although a number of Bahá'ís wished to celebrate the Master's birthday, He wouldn't permit it. That day, He insisted, belonged to the Báb, not to Him. In the face of repeated requests, however, He established the Day of the Covenant as a day Bahá'ís could celebrate in His honor if they wished.

While the Day of the Covenant is in a sense a celebration of 'Abdu'l-Bahá's life, it is in a larger sense a celebration of the establishment of the Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh, His promise that in exchange for His followers' obedience He would ensure their unity and through them establish the Kingdom of God on Earth. 'Abdu'l-Bahá is the "Center of this Covenant", the one to whom Bahá'u'lláh commanded His followers should turn after His death. The Master and the Covenant cannot be separated; any celebration of one is automatically a celebration of the other.

- From "Planet Baha'i" at Delphi Forums

[arthra]

Not really a Holy Day but a festive occasion before our Nineteen Day Fast, Ayyam-i-Ha lasts for four days and means "Days of Four" on a leap year we add a day! and get FIVE DAYS to celebrate.

Baha'is gather in each others homes or Baha'i Centers and share food and gifts or just have fellowship over a four-five day period. These days are our Inter-calary Days... The Baha'i Calendar (more correctly called the BADI Calendar) was deviised by the Bab and consists of nineteen months with nineteen days in each month. Each month and day is named after an attribute of God.

Multiplying 19 months x19 days = 361 days for the year and adding four days for Ayyam-i-Ha you have the solar year of 365 days....366 in a leap year.

Ayyam-i-Ha is followed by a nineteen day fast in which food and drink are abstained from beween sunrise and sunset.

More about that later...

- Art

[lunamoth]

Baha'i Friends, have a meaningful and blessed Ayyam-i-Ha and month of fasting.

Peace,
lunamoth

[arthra]

Thanks Lunamoth!

Mostly we have a lot of fun during Ayyam-i-Ha...

Around the evening of March 2nd our fasting period begins. This is during the nineteen day Baha'i month of 'Ala which means "loftiness" of God.

The Baha'i Fast is obligatory for Baha'is between fifteen and seventy years of age and involves abstaining from food and drink between sunrise and sunset.

There are exceptions made if you are ill, pregnant, nursing or for women during their courses, also while travelling long distances fasting is not obligatory.

You do not need to "make up" for the days of fasting you've missed either, say by fasting later.

Essentially the Fast was ordained for us to abstain from food and drink so we can exercise discipline and rely on more spiritual resources:

Baha'u'llah:

". . . Thou hast bidden all men to observe the fast, that through it they may purify their souls and rid themselves of all attachment to any one but Thee . . ."

Abdul-Baha:

"This material fast is an outer token of the spiritual fast; it is a symbol of self-restraint, the withholding of oneself from all appetites of the self, taking on the characteristics of the spirit, being carried away by the breathings of heaven and catching fire from the love of God."

Fasting is a common practise in most religious traditions but may vary of course in details.

- Art

[BruceDLimber]

Actually, just to picky, the Fast begins the evening of March first becuase we begin fasting on the morning of March second.... :-)

As wth all Abrahamic religions, the day begins at sunset on the evening before.

Best,

Bruce

[arthra]

From an article by John Walbridge:

The Bábi and Bahá'í Naw-Ruz

In the Badi` calendar of the Báb, Naw-Ruz is the day of Bahá of the month of Bahá, a day called by the Báb `the Day of God' (yawmu'llah). It was also the `Day of the Point' (yawm-i-nuqtih) -- i.e. the day of the Báb. Finally, it was a day associated with Him Whom God shall make manifest, the Promised One of the Báb. The remaining eighteen days of the month were associated with the eighteen Letters of the Living, an indication that the Báb envisioned the Naw-Ruz festivities encompassing the nineteen days of the month of Bahá, just as the traditional Iranian Naw-Ruz festivities last thirteen days. During Naw-Ruz the Báb permitted the use of musical instruments and other luxuries prohibited at other times. During the night of Naw-Ruz each believer was to recite 361 times the verse `God beareth witness that there is no God but Him, the Ineffable, the Self-Subsistent'; and during the day, `God beareth witness that there is no God but Him, the Precious, the Beloved'. Fasting was prohibited during the whole month of Bahá.

During the six years of His mission, the Báb and His followers observed Naw-Ruz, although it is difficult to say how much this represents a distinctively Báb- holy day.

Bahá'u'lláh adopted the Báb- holy day of Naw-Ruz as the feast day following the fast and stressed that it is associated with the Most Great Name, bearing as it does Bahá'u'lláh's own name. `Abdu'l-Bahá explained the significance of Naw-Ruz in terms of the symbolism of the new life of spring.

Bahá'u'lláh defines Naw-Ruz as the Bahá'í day on which the vernal equinox occurs. Thus, even if the equinox should occur just before sunset, that day -- which in the Bahá'í calendar began at the moment of sunset on the previous day -- is Naw-Ruz. At present, however, Naw-Ruz is fixed as 21 March for Bahá'ís in all countries outside the Middle East, regardless of exactly when the equinox occurs.

Naw-Ruz is one of the nine Bahá'í holy days on which work is to be suspended. It is generally observed with a meeting for prayer and celebration -- often combined with a dinner since the sunset on which Naw-Ruz begins ends the last day of the Bahá'í fast. As with all Bahá'í holy days, there are few fixed rules for observing Naw-Ruz, although Iranian Bahá'ís often follow Iranian traditions. Many Bahá'ís use Naw-Ruz as a day of gift-giving. Bahá'ís do not usually observe Naw-Ruz for longer than one day.

Since Naw-Ruz is the first day of a Bahá'í month, it is also the day of a nineteen day feast. It is not permitted to combine this feast with the observance of the holy day.

Last modified: Sun Jul 11 20:00:49 2004

Source:

http://www.safnet.com/bahai/docs/nawruz.html

[arthra]

First day of Ridvan begins on April 20th at sunset

Ninth day of Ridvan is on April 29th

Twelfth Day of Ridvan ends at sunset May 2nd.


"This is a reference to the arrival of Baha'u'llah and His companions in the Najibiyyih Garden outside the city of Baghdad, subsequently referred to by the Baha'is as the Garden of Ridvan. This event, which took place thirty-one days after Naw-Ruz, in April 1863, signalized the commencement of the period during which Baha'u'llah declared His Mission to His companions. In a Tablet, He refers to His Declaration as "the Day of supreme felicity" and He describes the Garden of Ridvan as "the Spot from which He shed upon the whole of creation the splendours of His Name, the All-Merciful". Baha'u'llah spent twelve days in this Garden prior to departing for Istanbul, the place to which He had been banished.

The Declaration of Baha'u'llah is celebrated annually by the twelve-day Ridvan Festival, described by Shoghi Effendi as "the holiest and most significant of all Baha'i festivals"

- From Notes from the Kitab-i-Aqdas Sentence 181

The First, Ninth and Twelfth days were significant because the tide of the Tigris River would permit easier access to the Garden and hence to Baha'u'llah...so first a small circle was permitted and later larger friends were permitted access and during these days Baha'u'llah declared His Mission.

_______________________________

The first day of Ridvan also is the occasion for local Baha'i elections. Baha'is throughout the world elect the members of their Local Spiritual Assembly. Every jurisdiction that has at least nine adult voting members, elects the Assembly which handles the administrative affairs of the Faith on the local level.

In the United States the National Baha'i Convention is also held on the 22nd through 24th of April in Wilmette, Illinois, this is where delegates from all the Districts in the United States elect a National Spiritual Assembly also of nine members.

Wilmette, Illinois is the site of the Baha'i House of Worship and the National Baha'i Offices.

No electioneering or campaigning is permitted and the voting is done in an attitude of prayer by secret ballot.

[arthra]

The first day of Ridvan begins on April 20th at sunset these evening.

Throughout the Baha'i world this evening, Baha'is are gathering to elect by secret balot and in prayer nine of their number to serve on the Local Spiritual Assembly. No electioneering or campaigning is permitted. Partisanship and polarity in this system really have no place.

Once elected the Spiritual Assembly meets to carry out the administrative responsibilities of the local Baha'i community.

What are some of these dutues? They can range from dispersing funds as needed or coordinating Baha'i Feasts and Holy Days. Seeing that Baha'i marriages are properly conducted or addressing the social needs of the Baha'is and others in the community.

In the United States the National Baha'i Convention is also held on the 22nd through 24th of April in Wilmette, Illinois, this is where delegates from all the Districts in the United States elect a National Spiritual Assembly also of nine members.

Unfortunately, Baha'is in some countries are prohibited from meeting together and performing this essentrial administrative and spiritual task. Baha'is obey laws and where the Faith is outlawed do not have these admistrative elections... The Assemblies are nonetheless essential to the Baha'i community as we have no priests or professional clergy.

[smkolins]

A beautiful sight often depends on where you stand. A great scene from a cliff overlooking an ocean, or a beach facing the dawning sun - these have no inherent quality different from any other place at any other time. And yet we can be awe-struck by the moment, and the alignment of things that must be as they are here and now even as around the planet every other thing continues whether we know it or not.

And the same holds of concepts and understandings; every mind has all it's ideas and beliefs, yet some combinations make the viewer still in awe, albeit every other mind is busy with it's own thoughts at the same time.

Here's one to share - April 20's is the time of Ridvan, and of the Lyriad meteor shower, identified in April 1861 with Comet Thatcher which was coming through in it's 451 year orbit. And in 1861 or so Baha'u'llah was writing "Gems of the Mysteries", and just a couple years later we had Ridvan itself in 1863. What will the world be like in 2312 when the comet returns?!

And the meteor shower is from the direction of Vega - the brightest star visible in the spring/summer from the northern hemisphere. And the direction of Vega is also the direction the whole solar system is moving in as it proceeds around the Milky Way galaxy - and spiritually, Ridvan is the direction mankind goes to for the Divine Springtime!

[arthra]

Ridwan allows a community to take stock of itself and given an accounting of the past year's events. It also allows for planning and adapting for the year ahead...

Those who are elected to the Local Assembly adapt their lives to serving on that body which serves the community.

All Bahá'í elections take place by secret ballot, with no nominations or electioneering. There are currently over 20,000 such Assemblies throughout the world

(Mouhebat Sobhani, Bahá'í: Teachings for the New World Order, (New York: Waldorf, 1992) 50.


The electors " must prayerfully and devotedly and after meditation and reflection elect faithful, sincere, experienced, capable and competent souls who are worthy of membership".

(In a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi, 1 July 1943 to the National Spiritual Assembly of Iran ö translated from the Persian)

One's vote should be kept confidential. It is not permissible to make any reference whatsoever to individual names. The friends must avoid the evil methods and detestable practices of the politicians. They must turn completely to God, and with a purity of motive, a freedom of spirit and a sanctity of heart, participate in the elections; otherwise the outcome will be chaos and confusion, serious difficulties will ensue, mischief will abound and the confirmation of God will be cut off.

(In a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi, 16 January 1923 to the Central Spiritual Assembly of Iran ö translated from the Persian)

"I earnestly appeal to every one of you " to make " yet another effort, this time more spontaneous and selfless than before, and endeavour to approach your task " with that purity of spirit that can alone obtain our Beloved's most cherished desire. Let us recall His explicit and often repeated assurances that every Assembly elected in that rarefied atmosphere of selflessness and detachment is in truth appointed of God".

(In a letter written by Shoghi Effendi, 23 February 1924 to the Bahá'ís in North America, published in "Bahá'í Administration: Selected Messages 1922-1932" (Wilmette: Bahá'í Publishing Trust, 1980), p. 65)

[arthra]

A fine audio-visual display of the Ridwan festival:

http://www.ridvan.org/

[arthra]

After Ridwan is the Declaration of the Bab on May 23 which commemorates the Bab's Declaration in Shiraz, Iran in 1844!

http://www.geocities.com/~quddus/feast/fhd05.html

The Baha'i Calendar also begins in 1844 CE or 1260 AH.

This is the interior of the House where the Bab proclaimed His Mission. The House was destroyed by Moslem extemists during the Islamic Revolution.

See:

http://www.uga.edu/bahai/2002/020722.html