Module #7
Bahá’í Calendar, Holy Days, 19 Day Feast

Therefore we must thank God that He has created for us both material blessings and spiritual bestowals. He has given us material gifts and spiritual graces, outer sight to view the lights of the sun and inner vision by which we may perceive the glory of God. He has designed the outer ear to enjoy the melodies of sound and the inner hearing wherewith we may hear the voice of our creator. We must strive with energies of heart, soul and mind to develop. and manifest the perfections and virtues latent within the realities of the phenomenal world, for the human reality may be compared to a seed. If we sow the seed, a mighty tree appears from it. The virtues of the seed are revealed in the tree; it puts forth branches, leaves, blossoms, and produces fruits. All these virtues were hidden and potential in the seed. Through the blessing and bounty of cultivation these virtues became apparent. Similarly the merciful God our creator has deposited within human realities certain virtues latent and potential. Through education and culture, these virtues deposited by the loving God will become apparent in the human reality even as the unfoldment of the tree from within the germinating seed.”
('Abdu'l-Bahá, Bahá’í World Faith)

OBJECTIVES :

1)		When Bahá’í’s gather the first day of each Bahá’í month for worship, consultation 			and fellowship. - what is the purpose, format and spirit that animates that meeting?

	2) 	What activities do Bahá’í’s engage in that encourages a feeling of community life?

	3) 	What 9 days each year is work to be suspended and children excused from school?  		Why is it important to suspend work on these Holy Days?	
		
			Naw-Rúz							March 21
			Festival of Ridván					April 21 till May 2 ( Days #1, #9 and #12 )
			Declaration of the Báb			May 23
			Ascension of Bahá’u’lláh			May 29
			Martyrdom of the Báb			July 9
			Birth of the Báb						October 20
			Birth of Bahá’u’lláh					November 12

	4)		What does each of these Holy Days signify, are they sad or joyful, is there any equivalent to  Christmas or New Year?

	5)	 	What are the names of the Bahá’í months?

			Month		Arabic Name		Translation			First Day

			1st				Baha					Splendour			March 21
			2nd				Jalal					Glory				April 9
			3rd				Jamal					Beauty				April 28
			4th				'Azamat				Grandeur			May 17
			5th				Nur					Light				June 5
		 	6th				Rahmat				Mercy				June 24
		 	7th				Kalimat				Words				July 13
			8th				Kamal					Perfection			August I
		 	9th				Asma'					Names				August 20
			10th			'Izzat					Might				September 8
			11th			Mashiyyat			Will				September 27
			12th			'Ilm						Knowledge			October 16
			13th			Qudrat				Power				November 4
			14th			Qawl					Speech				November 23
			15th			Masa'il				Questions			December 12
			16th			Sharaf					Honour				December 31
			17th			Sultan					Sovereignty		January 19
			18th			Mulk					Dominion			February 7
			19th			'Ala'					Loftiness			March 2

	6)		What are the special times associated with the Holy Days?  {The commemoration of many Feasts and anniversaries in the Bahá’í year is fixed according to the position of the sun.}

		  	The first day of Ridvan, at about 3 p.m. on April 21. 
		 The anniversary of the Declaration of the Báb, at about two hours after sunset on May 22. 
		  	The anniversary of the Ascension of Bahá’u’lláh, at 3 a.m. on May 29. 
		  	The anniversary of the Martyrdom of the Báb, at about noon on July 9. 
		  	The anniversary of the Ascension of 'Abdu’l-Bahá, at 1 a.m. on November 28.

DEFINITIONS: (Basic Bahá’í Dictionary, Editor Wendi Momen, George Ronald Press 1989)

Ascension of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá 
Bahá’í Holy Day commemorating the passing of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, who died in the early hours of 28 November 1921 in Haifa. His tomb is on Mount Carmel, a vault within the Shrine of the Báb. The anniversary of His ascension is observed at 1 AM. Suspension of work is not obligatory.

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Ascension of Bahá’u’lláh
Bahá’í Holy Day commemorating the passing of Bahá’u’lláh, which occured in the early hours of the morning of 29 May 1892 at Bahjí. This solemn anniversary is observed at 3AM, often by the reading or chanting of the Tablet of Visitation. Work is suspended.

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Ayyám-i-Há: 
Literally Days of Há ( the letter Há, in the abjad system has the value of 5 ). Intercalary Days. The four days (five in leap. year) before the last month of the Bahá’í year, ‘Alá, which is the month of fasting. Bahá’u’lláh has designated the Intercalary Days as Ayyám-i- Há in the Kitab-i-Aqdas and specified when they should be observed; the Báb had left this undefined. The Ayyám-i- Há are devoted to spiritual preparation for the fast, hospitality, feasting, charity and gift giving.

 “My God, my Fire and my Light! The days which Thou hast named the Ayyam-i-Ha (the Days of Ha, Intercalary days) in Thy Book have begun, O Thou Who art the King of names, and the fast which Thy most exalted Pen hath enjoined unto all who are in the kingdom of Thy creation to observe is approaching. I entreat Thee, O my Lord, by these days and by all such as have during that period clung to the cord of Thy commandments, and laid hold on the handle of Thy precepts, to grant that unto every soul may be assigned a place within the precincts of Thy court, and a seat at the revelation of the splendors of the light of Thy countenance. 

These, O my Lord, are Thy servants whom no corrupt inclination hath kept back from what Thou didst send down in Thy Book. They have bowed themselves before Thy Cause, and received Thy Book with such resolve as is born of Thee, and observed what Thou hadst prescribed unto them, and chosen to follow that which had been sent down by Thee. 

Thou seest, O my Lord, how they have recognized and confessed whatsoever Thou hast revealed in Thy Scriptures. Give them to drink, O my Lord, from the hands of Thy graciousness the waters of Thine eternity. Write down, then, for them the recompense ordained for him that hath immersed himself in the ocean of Thy presence, and attained unto the choice wine of Thy meeting. 

I implore Thee, O Thou the King of kings and the Pitier of the downtrodden, to ordain for them the good of this world and of the world to come. Write down for them, moreover, what none of Thy creatures hath discovered, and number them with those who have circled round Thee, and who move about Thy throne in every world of Thy worlds. 

Thou, truly, art the Almighty, the All-Knowing, the All-Informed.”
{Bahá’u’lláh, Prayers and Meditations, pp. 66-67}

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Calendar:
Also called the Badí calendar. The Bahá’í calendar was established by the Báb in the 
Kitab-i-Asma and approved by Bahá’u’lláh, who stated that it should begin in 1844 (AH 1260). It is based on the solar year of 365 days, five hours and some fifty minutes. Each year is divided into nineteen months of nineteen days each with four Intercalary Days (five in leap. year), called Ayyam-i-Ha, which Bahá’u’lláh specified should precede the nineteenth month. New Year's Day (Naw-Ruz) falls on the Spring Equinox. This usually occurs on 21 March but if the equinox takes place after sunset on 21 March, Naw-Ruz is to be celebrated on 22 March, for the Bahá’í day begins and ends at sunset.

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Declaration of the Báb:
A Bahá’í Holy Day commemorating the Declaration of the Báb to Mulla Husayn that the Báb was the Promised One. This event occurred at two hours and eleven minutes after sunset on the evening of 22 May 1844 in the House of the Báb in Shiraz. It is considered to mark the opening of the Bahá’í Dispensation and the beginning of the Bahá’í Era.

“This night,” said the Báb to Mulla Husayn, “this very hour will, in the days to come, be celebrated as one of the greatest and most significant of all festivals.” {Balyuzi in the Báb, p. 20}  The Declaration of the Báb is observed about two hours after sunset on 22 May and work is prohibited on this Holy Day.

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Feast, Nineteen Day: 
The principal gathering of Bahá’ís of a particular locality. The Nineteen Day Feast is, ideally, held on the first day of every Bahá’í month, and brings together the members of the Bahá’í community for worship, consultation and fellowship.

The program for each Feast is divided into three parts to correspond to these purposes. The devotional portion of the feast consists of reading primarily from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, the Bab and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá or, occasionally, from the sacred scriptures of other religions. {Lights of Guidance no 526}The purpose of the consultative portion of the Feast “is to enable individual believers to offer any suggestion to the local assembly which in its turn will pass it to the [National Spiritual Assembly].” The social portion of the Feast consists in the serving of refreshments. Attendance at the Feast is not obligatory but very important. In general, only Bahá’ís are permitted to attend the Nineteen Day Feast.

“The primary intent is to kindle these stirrings of the spirit, but at the same time it follows quite naturally that those present should partake of food, so that the world of the body may mirror the spirit's world, and flesh take on the qualities of soul; and just as the spiritual delights are here in profusion, so too the material delights.”
{'Abdu'l-Bahá, Bahá'í Meetings/The Nineteen Day Feast, p. 17}

“Give ye great weight to the Nineteen Day gatherings, so that on these occasions the beloved of the Lord and the handmaids of the Merciful may turn their faces toward the Kingdom, chant the communes, beseech God's help, become joyfully enamored each of the other, and grow in purity and holiness, and in the fear of God, and in resistance to passion and self. Thus will they separate themselves from this elemental world, and immerse themselves in the ardors of the spirit.”
{'Abdu'l-Bahá, Bahá'í Meetings/The Nineteen Day Feast, p. 18}

 “In brief, this is my hope: that the Nineteen Day Feast become the cause of great spiritual solidarity between the friends, that it may bring believers into the bond of unity, and we will then be so united together that love and wisdom will spread from this center to all parts. This Feast is a divine Feast. It is a Lord's supper. It attracts confirmation of God like a magnet. It is the Cause of the enlightenment of hearts.”
{'Abdu'l-Bahá, Bahá'í Meetings/The Nineteen Day Feast, p. 18}

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Martyrdom of the Báb:
Bahá’í Holy Day observed on 9 July commemorating the day the Báb was martyred in the barracks square of Tabriz in 1850.

When Mírzá Táqí Khán, Grand Vizier of Násiri'd-Dín Sháh, found he was unable to stamp out the Babi Faith, he determined to put the Báb to death. The Báb was taken to Tabriz and the Armenian regiment of Urúmíyyih, commanded by the Christian colonel Sám Khán, was ordered to carry out the execution. When the smoke cleared after the 750 rifles had fired, the Báb was nowhere to be seen and His companion, Mírzá Muhammad 'Alí, was standing unharmed. The bullets had only cut the ropes that bound them. The Báb was found in the room He had occupied the night before, continuing a conversation with His amanuensis which had been interrupted. Sám Khán refused to carry out the execution a second time and ordered his regiment to leave the barracks. The colonel of the bodyguard, Aqá Ján Khán-i-Khamsih, volunteered to carry out the order and this time the bullets of his Násirí regiment killed the Báb. The anniversary of the Martyrdom of the Báb is observed at noon on 9 July. Work is suspended on this Holy Day.

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Naw Rúz: 
(Literally: New Day) The Bahá’í New Year. Like the ancient Persians New Year, it occurs on the spring equinox, which generally falls on 21 March. For the present, the celebration of Naw Rúz is fixed on 21 March. In the Bahá’í calendar, Naw Rúz falls on the day of Bahá of the month of Bahá.

The Festival of Naw Rúz marks the end of the month of fasting and is a joyous time of celebration. It is a Bahá’í Holy Day on which work is to be suspended.

 “Praised be Thou, O my God, that Thou hast ordained Naw-Ruz as a festival unto those who have observed the fast for love of Thee and abstained from all that is abhorrent unto Thee. Grant, O my Lord, that the fire of Thy love and the heat produced by the fast enjoined by Thee may inflame them in Thy Cause, and make them to be occupied with Thy praise and with remembrance of Thee. 

Since Thou hast adorned them, O my Lord, with the ornament of the fast prescribed by Thee, do Thou adorn them also with the ornament of Thine acceptance, through Thy grace and bountiful favor. For the doings of men are all dependent upon Thy good-pleasure, and are conditioned by Thy behest. Shouldst Thou regard him who hath broken the fast as one who hath observed it, such a man would be reckoned among them who from eternity had been keeping the fast. And shouldst Thou decree that he who hath observed the fast hath broken it, that person would be numbered with such as have caused the Robe of Thy Revelation to be stained with dust, and been far removed from the crystal waters of this living Fountain. 

Thou art He through Whom the ensign "Praiseworthy art Thou in Thy works" hath been lifted up, and the standard "Obeyed art Thou in Thy behest" hath been unfurled. Make known this Thy station, O my God, unto Thy servants, that they may be made aware that the excellence of all things is dependent upon Thy bidding and Thy word, and the virtue of every act is conditioned by Thy leave and the good-pleasure of Thy will, and may recognize that the reins of men's doings are within the grasp. of Thine acceptance and Thy commandment. Make this known unto them, that nothing whatsoever may shut them out from Thy Beauty, in these days whereon the Christ exclaimeth: "All dominion is Thine, O Thou the Begetter of the Spirit (Jesus)"; and Thy Friend (Muhammad) crieth out: "Glory be to Thee, O Thou the Best-Beloved, for that Thou hast uncovered Thy Beauty, and written down for Thy chosen ones what will cause them to attain unto the seat of the revelation of Thy Most Great Name, through which all the peoples have lamented except such as have detached themselves from all else except Thee, and set themselves towards Him Who is the Revealer of Thyself and the Manifestation of Thine attributes." 

He Who is Thy Branch and all Thy company, O my Lord, have broken this day their fast, after having observed it within the precincts of Thy court, and in their eagerness to please Thee. Do Thou ordain for him, and for them, and for all such as have entered Thy presence in those days all the good Thou didst destine in Thy Book. Supply them, then, with that which will profit them, in both this life and in the life beyond. 
Thou, in truth, art the All-Knowing, the All-Wise. “
{Bahá’u’lláh, Prayers and Meditations, pp. 66-67}

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Ridván, Festival: 
The twelve-day festival commemorating Bahá’u’lláh’s Declaration of His mission to His companions and celebrated annually from 21 April through 2 May. Bahá’u’lláh acclaimed Ridvan as the “Most Great Festival,” the “King of Festivals,” the “Festival of God,” and has referred to it as the Day whereon “the breezes of forgiveness were wafted over the entire creation.”
{Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By, pp. 153-4}

“Of the exact circumstances attending that epoch-making Declaration we, alas, are but scantily informed. The words Bahá’u’lláh actually uttered on that occasion, the manner of His Declaration, the reaction it produced, its impact on Mirza Yahya, the identity of those who were privileged to hear Him, are shrouded in an obscurity which future historians will find it difficult to penetrate.”
{Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By, p. 153}

The first, ninth and twelfth days of Ridván are celebrated as Holy Days on which work is suspended. Local spiritual assemblies are elected annually on the first day of Ridván while national spiritual assemblies are elected during the Ridván period. The Universal House of Justice is elected every five years during the Ridván period.

“The arrival of Bahá’u’lláh in the Najíbiyyih Garden, subsequently designated by His followers the Garden of Ridván, signalizes the commencement of what has come to be recognized as the holiest and most significant of all Bahá’í festivals, the festival commemorating the Declaration of His Mission to His companions. So momentous a Declaration may well be regarded both as the logical consummation of that revolutionizing process which was initiated by Himself upon His return from Sulaymaniyyih, and as a prelude to the final proclamation of that same Mission to the world and its rulers from Adrianople. 

Through that solemn act the "delay," of no less than a decade, divinely interposed between the birth of Baha'u'llah's Revelation in the Síyáh-Chál and its announcement to the Bab's disciples, was at long last terminated. The "set time of concealment," during which as He Himself has borne witness, the "signs and tokens of a divinely-appointed Revelation" were being showered upon Him, was fulfilled. The "myriad veils of light," within which His glory had been wrapped, were, at that historic hour, partially lifted, vouchsafing to mankind "an infinitesimal glimmer" of the effulgence of His "peerless, His most sacred and exalted Countenance." The "thousand two hundred and ninety days," fixed by Daniel in the last chapter of His Book, as the duration of the "abomination that maketh desolate" had now elapsed. The "hundred lunar years," destined to immediately precede that blissful consummation (1335 days), announced by Daniel in that same chapter, had commenced. The nineteen years, constituting the first " Vahid," preordained in the Persian Bayan by the pen of the Báb, had been completed. The Lord of the Kingdom, Jesus Christ returned in the glory of the Father, was about to ascend His throne, and assume the sceptre of a world-embracing, indestructible sovereignty. The community of the Most Great Name, the "companions of the Crimson Colored Ark," lauded in glowing terms in the Qayyumu'l-Asma', had visibly emerged. The Báb's own prophecy regarding the " Ridván," the scene of the unveiling of Baha'u'llah's transcendent glory, had been literally fulfilled.”
{Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By, p. 152}

“Rejoice with exceeding gladness, O people of Bahá, as ye call to remembrance the Day of supreme felicity, the Day whereon the Tongue of the Ancient of Days hath spoken, as He departed from His House, proceeding to the Spot from which He shed upon the whole of creation the splendors of His name, the All-Merciful. God is Our witness. Were We to reveal the hidden secrets of that Day, all they that dwell on earth and in the heavens would swoon away and die, except such as will be preserved by God, the Almighty, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.” {Bahá’u’lláh, Gleanings, p. 35}

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Work is forbidden: 
“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 employ 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 recognized and their right to hold their own religious Holy Days acknowledged.”
{Shoghi Effendi, Principles of Bahá'í Administration, p. 55}

“…Steps should be taken to have Bahá'í children excused, on religious grounds, from attending school on Bahá'í Holy Days wherever possible. The Guardian has said:
“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.”
{The Universal House of Justice, Wellspring of Guidance, p. 70}

QUOTES:

By observing the Holy Days, the believers can show honor and reverence for Bahá'u'lláh, the Báb and 'Abdu'l-Bahá. The Local Spiritual Assemblies sponsor the commemorations and ensure that the programs are befitting to the occasions.

Some Holy Days—the Martyrdom of the Báb, the Ascension of Bahá'u'lláh, and the Ascension of 'Abdu'l-Bahá—should be observed in a solemn and reverent manner.

Other Holy Days—Naw-Rúz, Ridván, the anniversaries of the Birth of the Báb and Bahá'u'lláh, and the Declaration of the Báb—are festive. The general character of the festive Holy Days is described by 'Abdu'l-Bahá in a talk about the Feast of Naw-Rúz.

RECOMMENDED READINGS :

	The Bahá'í Community - compilation
	Bahá'í Meetings / The Nineteen Day Feast - compilation
	Lights of Guidance
	Living the Life - compilation
	Spiritual Foundations: Prayer, Meditation, & the Devotional Attitude
	Developing Distinct Bahá’í Communities - by the USA National Spiritual Assembly
	Days of Rivdan - a compilation
	The Martyrdom of the Báb - a compilation
	Brilliant Star Magazine