Holy Days and the Baha'i calendar
Editorial introduction
Naw-Rúz, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá writes, must find expression in life, or it is like any other day. That warning sets the measure for every holy day: a date returning on the calendar is nothing until it becomes generosity to kindred and the poor, a table spread for friends, song and Tablets read aloud, work set aside, lamps lit by hand at a shrine. Bahá’u’lláh shaped the year so that it teaches this rhythm. Nineteen months carry the names of divine attributes; the Days of Há open a season of giving that leads into the Fast, and the Fast opens into the feast of the New Year; the twelve days of Ridván recall the garden where a Revelation was announced. Mourning has its hours too, so that the martyrdom of the Báb and the ascension of Bahá’u’lláh stay present in a community’s memory. The dates were settled over decades in letters that defer, adjust and explain, a history rather than a rule for today. Leviticus shows a festival joining harvest, rest and rejoicing so that later generations remember a deliverance [1]. From here the path leads to the Nineteen-Day Feast, the day of rest, the discipline of fasting, and the gatherings in which remembrance becomes a shared way of life.
It is hoped that this Naw-Ruz will be victorious so that the loved ones of God in all the world will become joyous and happy and increase their sacrifice. Naw-Ruz must have manifestation and expression, otherwise it is like other days.
O Roshan! May heavenly blessings be upon you. Praise be to God, you are nourished at the breast of the love of God and are developing in the embrace of the knowledge of God. You have a kind mother like the handmaiden of God Asiyih. You host gatherings on Naw-Ruz day and provide hospitality to a group of the loved ones of God and handmaidens of the All-Merciful, preparing both heavenly sustenance and physical food so that they may read divine tablets, explain the divine teachings, discuss the counsels and advice of the Most Glorious Beauty, speak and listen, engage in the mention of Truth, and arrange a celebration and feast for the victory of Naw-Ruz day - a feast where the luminous lamps are those radiant faces turned to God, the true sustenance is the mention and praise of God and divine teachings, its music and song are heavenly melodies, and its cup of wine is the wine of the love of God among humanity. Convey to your respected mother my most wondrous and glorious greetings, and likewise to all the friends and handmaidens of the All-Merciful. And upon you be the Most Glorious Glory.
Roshan to recite
The program of such fête days must be so prepared as to yield a permanent result.
These are the Days of Ha whereon We have commanded all to be generous unto themselves and unto those who have turned towards this most Sublime Vision, so that they may make mention of Him therein and comprehend their station; for they betoken this Name, through which laws have been established for all that is visible and invisible.
Verily, We have designated these days to come before the Fast.
Praise be to God that your Naw-Ruz was to you a New Day and conducive to joy and happiness.
O World-Embracing One! Naw-Ruz is the day when the world-illumining Sun of the eternal realm shone forth in the heaven of glory, bestowed abundant radiance, and provided guidance. … This was the divine Naw-Ruz.
O Firuz! Hearken unto the call of the All-Merciful on this Naw-Ruz wherein all things have been adorned with the raiment of My remembrance and the garment of thy Lord's loving-kindness, the Bestower, the Bountiful.
In truth this day is a blessed day and this festival is a glorious and praiseworthy festival. The sun appears in perfect equipoise twice during the year's course: once heralding the advent of spring as it enters the sign of Aries, marked by the celebration of Naw-Ruz; and again ushering in the autumn as it enters Libra, known as Mihrigan. At these two points the sun illumines both hemispheres of the earth in equal measure.
There are two equinoxes, the vernal (Aries) and the autumnal (Libra). Before this vernal season, the earth, mountains, and gardens are as dead; this season brings life.
In Persia the great vernal feast has been respected from far-off ages. King Jamshid first built a gigantic fire-place and instituted a banquet on this day, and from this time the day of Naw-Ruz gradually came to be kept as a national feast. All victories were celebrated on this anniversary, and foundation stones of important buildings were laid on this day of the Naw-Ruz.
I am extremely glad to see you on this Nau Rooz occasion. This day is the anniversary of many historical events, among them the victory of the Persians over the Arabs who invaded Persia and were successfully repulsed.
During the days of the Blessed Perfection we celebrated this National New year's day with great elaboration and festivity ... … The Newyear's day is a day of pleasure and delight.
Today is the Feast of Naw-Ruz. Our festivals are most magnificent, having no equal among all peoples. Likewise, our days of mourning are most intense. However, when we were in this world with the Blessed Beauty, we would celebrate the feast during those blessed days.
As the Ridvan Festival marked the beginning of the announcement of Him Whom God Shall Make Manifest, and as the Ancient Beauty, though banished and exiled, manifested and shone forth to all horizons with perfect joy, majesty and divine glory in Najib Pasha's garden outside [Baghdad], and all necks were bowed and all voices were humbled, therefore these days are most blessed. The loved ones should express utmost joy and delight.
As to what you wrote concerning the Blessed Festivals, asking whether there are specific Tablets that must be recited for each of these Festivals, or whether any of the divine Tablets may be read - the recitation of verses during those days is beloved.
O spiritual nightingale, sing a melody with the divine sweet tone on this Ridvan Festival in praise and glorification of the All-Merciful Beauty, that the song of "O Glory of the Most Glorious" may reach the ears of this servant.
O thou nightingale in the Rose-garden of Significances!
The poetry that thou hast composed on the occasion of the Feast of the Ridvan is wonderful, eloquent, fluent and sweet. With a melodious voice it should be sung during the Days of the Ridvan and the believers and maidservants of the Merciful must listen.
O thou dear maid-servant of God!
Thy letter, concerning the celebration of the anniversary of the declaration of His Holiness the Supreme --may my spirit be sacrificed for Him!--which was held on the land of the Mashrak-el-Azcar, was read.
… I am hopeful that, during the coming of Rizwan, a great feast shall be held in the land of the Mashrak-el-Azcar, a spiritual celebration prepared and the melodies of the violin and the mandolin and hymns in praise and glorification of the Lord of Hosts make all the audience joyous and ecstatic.
O friends and maidservants of the All-Merciful! If your intention is to arrange a general gathering in Chicago during Naw-Ruz, where people from all directions will be present and discussions will be held regarding the Mashriqu'l-Adhkar, and the oneness of the world of humanity will be proclaimed, and the divine teachings will be discussed, and the counsels of the Blessed Beauty will be explained and elucidated, it would be better if this event were to take place during the Festival of Ridvan, for Ridvan is the Most Great Festival and the weather is perfectly moderate.
O ye who are longing for the countenance of that Kind Beloved!
Praise be to God that the city of Qazvin has become such a banquet hall of the highest heaven that in the Festival of Ridvan the heavenly feast descended from the celestial kingdom.
O friends of this imprisoned servant! His Honor Taraz and His Honor Ali-Akbar spent the Ridvan days in that blessed village in joy and delight, and they described the spiritual pleasure and divine sweetness of those days, saying that praise be to God, we were hand in hand with the divine friends, and intoxicated with the wine of the All-Merciful, enchanted by that radiant countenance and enraptured by those scattered tresses, and were infinitely joyous and glad.
O ye steadfast ones! You celebrated the festival days in that blessed village with the utmost joy and gladness, and attained happiness and success.
O you who are firm in the Covenant and servant of the Testament! On the Day of Ridvan, a vast pavilion was erected in an elevated location facing the Holy Shrine, and at the time of visitation the friends of God gathered and the divine assembly was present.
And regarding your question about the number of days of Ridvan - it is twelve days, and its first day is that same day two hours before sunset.
Regarding what was again asked about the Most Great Festival, and what was written that your honor had taken Friday as the second day and the following Friday as the ninth day - your action is correct and all should follow you in what you have done. For according to this reckoning the first day of the Festival begins on Thursday afternoon when the Throne was established in Ridvan. And what was written that the afternoon of the first day and the second day are counted as one day - this is because work is not permitted therein, and this pertains to the outward aspect of the matter. In any case, the first day of the Festival is the afternoon of the day when the Ancient Beauty entered Ridvan, and that day is included in the count.
On the thirty-second day, at the time of the afternoon prayer, the Ancient Beauty entered the Garden of Ridvan. That moment marks the beginning of the Most Great Festival, and that day together with the second day of the Festival are reckoned as one day. It is strictly forbidden in the Book to engage in work on the first, ninth and twelfth days, but there is no objection to working on the other days.
You had asked whether the first day of Ridvan is the one in which the feast occurs two hours before sunset and work is not permitted on that day, or if it is the following day. It is that same first day, when two hours remain until sunset, on which work is not permitted.
Regarding the inquiry about the day of Naw-Ruz and the first day of the Festival, thy reckoning was correct and in accordance with reality.
O servant of God! Regarding your question about the prohibition of work on Holy Days: Work is forbidden on the three days of the Festival of Ridvan - the first, ninth and twelfth days - and likewise on the Birthday of the Exalted One [the Bab] and the Birthday of the Blessed Beauty and Naw-Ruz and the Declaration [of the Bab]. The intent is that work is forbidden on Holy Days, but for Ridvan it is three days, and if they abstain from work on Naw-Ruz for more than one day during the specified days, this practice is beloved but not obligatory or required.
During the days of the nine holy days, engagement in occupation is truly not permitted - some based on divine texts and some by analogy: the first and second of Muharram, the three days of Ridvan, the seventieth day [after Naw-Ruz], the day of Naw-Ruz, the twenty-eighth of Sha'ban, and the fifth of Jumada al-Awwal.
Work is forbidden on the Day of the Declaration of the Bab, the seventieth day of Naw-Ruz, the twenty-eighth of Sha'ban, the first of Muharram, the second of Muharram, Naw-Ruz, and the three days of Ridvan.
On days when work is forbidden, farmers should postpone irrigation until the following day. However, shepherds are exempt, for necessity renders the forbidden permissible, lest the animals go hungry. But office managers and farm owners, even if their laborers are not Baha'is, must observe the holiday....
Regarding what you wrote about the Day of the Declaration of the Bab (may my spirit be sacrificed for Him), it is recorded in the Questions and Answers that the Day of Kamal falls in the Month of 'Azamat, and the Day of Martyrdom falls on the Day of Sultan in the Month of Rahmat. This is definitive text which no matter can contradict. This will be implemented later. However, since in the blessed days these two holy days were observed on the fifth of Jumada I and the twenty-eighth of Sha'ban, and the loved ones would present themselves in the Most Holy Court, expressing joy on the Day of Declaration and showing intense grief and sorrow in the countenance of the Blessed Beauty on the Day of Martyrdom, we therefore continue to observe these two days on these two dates until now. But what is in the texts will be implemented later.
As for the dates in this Most Great Dispensation, some are solar and some are lunar. The Festival of Ridvan, Naw-Ruz, and the Night of the Ascension are solar, but the Twin Festivals are, according to the explicit text of the Book, concurrent, and this can only be realized through the lunar calendar.
These Baha'i Feasts are celebrated in the East according to the lunar calendar. We also celebrate them here in accord with the lunar reckoning. For this was the custom during the days of the Blessed Perfection. Some wish to convert these into solar dates. But such matters are entrusted to the House of Justice to execute according to the requirements of times and circumstances. (etc.)
… No feast days can be set aside or created except Feasts which concern the Blessed Beauty and His Highness the Supreme (the Bab).
And regarding the fifth of Jumada I, the Declaration of the Bab (may my spirit be sacrificed for Him), in the blessed days it was practiced thus, but the friends in America and Europe calculate it according to the solar calendar so that the Holy Days do not coincide with the days of the ascension and passing of the Blessed Beauty.
Mr. Randall then asked if America might for the present adopt the Persian dates.
‘Abdu'l-Baha replied: "Yes, if they want to. They must want to and take the initiative. It is not the request of ‘Abdu'l-Baha. These matters are left to the House of justice which will be established before this century is out."
As to what was asked about whether the Arabic months are determined by the sighting of the moon or whether one can act according to what is specified in the calendar - acting according to the calendar is permissible.
As to what was mentioned regarding the Holy Days, they are the first and second of Muharram. However, wisdom does not at present permit their observance, for the heedless party--that is, the Shi'ih--have formed and continue to form other notions. Therefore this ordinance and other ordinances are for future days, and their time shall come. Thus hath spoken the tongue of our Lord, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.
In all conditions, all the friends who have truly partaken of the Most Pure Wine and are focused on the Greatest Scene must observe wisdom. The matter of wisdom is mentioned and accepted before God to such a degree that this year the Most Great Festival of the Birth was not celebrated. He said: "We have prohibited this festival to exalt the station of wisdom and to elevate its rank." From this comprehensive, decisive and blessed word, the significance of wisdom becomes clear and evident.
Ye shall count from the fifth day of the first Jim of your month as the first of the years of eternity. Then ye shall count each one, and what exceedeth ye shall subtract thereafter. Each month is nineteen days, and each year nineteen months, and each cycle three hundred and sixty-one. Thus shall ye reckon, not by the rising of the moon, nor by what ye reckon by the sun.
The year has been fixed at nineteen months, and each month at nineteen days. … It has been ordained that these five days, which are called the Days of Ha and the Days of Giving that precede the Fast, should be placed before the month of fasting, and the month of fasting is the last month of the year, while Naw-Ruz is the first day of the year.
As for the names of those nineteen months, they are as follows: First, the Month of Splendor; Second, the Month of Glory; Third, the Month of Beauty; Fourth, the Month of Grandeur; Fifth, the Month of Light; Sixth, the Month of Mercy; Seventh, the Month of Words; Eighth, the Month of Perfection; Ninth, the Month of Names; Tenth, the Month of Might; Eleventh, the Month of Will; Twelfth, the Month of Knowledge; Thirteenth, the Month of Power; Fourteenth, the Month of Speech; Fifteenth, the Month of Questions; Sixteenth, the Month of Honor; Seventeenth, the Month of Sovereignty; Eighteenth, the Month of Dominion; Nineteenth, the Month of Loftiness.
Question: When the Bahai year of nineteen months of nineteen days each (and the intercalary days making the solar year) is established, will the day begin at sunset, or at midnight?
Answer: It will begin at midnight, the same as the solar year.
For example he firmly believed that when he grows very old suddenly he will be rejuvenated and become a youth as handsome as "Joseph", or he believed because the Bab has divided the year into 19 months in the future something will happen to the moon that instead of rising and setting 28 days in the month, it will rise and set only 19 times.
O Day of Naw-Ruz! We have created thee aforetime and made thee a festival for all the worlds. We promised to gather thee on the Day of Resurrection and present thee before Us in human form, and verily We are faithful to Our promise. This is a day which God hath magnified from the beginning that hath no beginning, and all magnify it as God hath magnified it.
In the Book of Aqdas, the Most Exalted Pen has ordained four festivals for all the peoples of the world, wherein the followers of Baha should meet and associate with one another with love for God, to such extent as does not contravene the wisdom revealed in the Tablets of God.
… The first is the Day of Baha of the month of Baha, which is the ancient Naw-Ruz and the Festival of the Fast, marking the beginning of months and years, wherein the bounties of God are made manifest on that day beloved of all worlds.
The second is the Most Great Festival, which is the king of festivals, being those days when the Ancient Beauty emerged from the Most Great House and illumined the Najibiyyih Garden with the light of His countenance.
Regarding the birth of this servant, which also happened on that day, this a proof of the favors and bounties of God toward this servant. However, this Blessed Day must be known as the Day of the Declaration of His Highness the Supreme (the Bab) and the beginning of the effulgence of the Sun of Reality. You must on this account be engaged in rejoicing, happiness and gladness.
O friends and handmaidens of the Merciful! Praise be to God that you have gathered together in utmost affection and love, and on the Birth Day of the Exalted One (the Bab) you attained perfect fellowship and joy, and engaged in the mention of God.
On the day of the Birth [of the Bab] a feast was held in the name of that handmaiden, and the ladies all visited the Holy Shrine on her behalf.
O ye who are firm in the Covenant! The congratulations for the blessed Festival of the Birth of His Holiness the Exalted One arrived, indicating that those friends and handmaidens of the All-Merciful arranged a gathering, organized a feast, held a celebration, and with utmost joy brought that day to its close.
Now the purpose is congratulations for this glorious festival, the Day of the Birth of the Greatest Name.
O thou who hast attained, O assured leaf! On this luminous day - the birthday of His Holiness - the world of existence is immersed in an ocean of joy and gladness, and the bounty of the Abha Kingdom is descending like heavy rain from the favors of the loving Lord. I hope that thou wilt receive an abundant portion and be a thankful handmaiden.
O Herald of the Covenant! It is the blessed morning of the Festival and the Birth Day of the Most Merciful One. Everyone is engaged and familiar with some remembrance and thought, but I am intimate with your remembrance. Observe what love and kindness exists between us.
Yesterday, which was the fifth of Jumada al-Awwal, the Day of the Declaration of His Holiness the Exalted One, they pitched the pavilion near the Holy Shrine and Blessed Tomb (may my spirit be a sacrifice for its dust), and in perfect joy and fragrance the feast of happiness was arranged.
… After the recitation of special tablets, prayers, odes and praises of the Ancient Beauty (may my spirit be sacrificed for His loved ones) and His Holiness the Exalted One (may my soul be sacrificed for Him), and after conversation and counsel, the table was spread and lunch was eaten in your memory. Afterwards tea was served around, and then all the friends, with complete humility and submissiveness, faced the Holy Shrine and with utter meekness and lowliness we all attained the honor of kissing the Sacred Threshold.
The visitation continued until about an hour after sunset, and I lit all the lamps of the Pure Shrine with my own hand, and on your behalf I perfumed my face and hair with the dust of that fragrant and sweet-scented threshold.
The great feast that you celebrated on the occasion of the appearance of His Highness, the Bab, likewise the feasts of nineteen days, produced great rejoicing in the hearts of the believers.
You have written regarding the Feast of the declaration of His Holiness the Bab, that you have celebrated a banquet and arranged a blessed gathering.
O heavenly daughter! Your letter indicated that you celebrated the Day of the Declaration of the Bab with the utmost joy and glory. Through the blessing of this celebration, the light of guidance cast a new flame. Your sincerity of purpose and pure love for God will bring about numerous celebrations, and in each celebration the fire of the love of God will cast a new flame and great results will be achieved therefrom.
O two brothers like two celestial bodies! Jinab-i-Amin has offered the utmost praise for your strength of heart, loftiness of purpose and nobility of character at the feast and celebration in Hasan-Abad on the blessed Day of the Declaration of His Holiness the Exalted One, may my spirit be sacrificed for Him, and with complete humility has requested the writing of this letter.
O sons and daughters of the Kingdom! Your letter written on Naw-Ruz Day in the gathering of friends was received. … Its reading brought the utmost joy and delight, for praise be to God, in Germany the servants and handmaidens of the Merciful arranged a gathering of fellowship and love on Naw-Ruz Day, and made their spirits fragrant with the life-giving breeze of the Abha Paradise, and were engaged in the mention of the King of the Kingdom, the Lord of Hosts.
O true friends of this Prisoner! News of your joyous festivities during the days of the Holy Day arrived and brought the utmost delight and joy.
You had written about the details of Naw-Ruz and it brought infinite joy.
The program of the Naw-Ruz festival was received and caused utmost joy.
O spiritual friends! The greatest glad-tidings is that the pure, luminous, and holy remains of His Holiness the Exalted One (may my spirit be sacrificed for Him), after being moved from place to place for sixty years due to the control of enemies and fear of the hostile ones, never finding rest or repose, through the grace of the Blessed Beauty was finally established, on the day of Naw-Ruz with utmost ceremony and perfect majesty and beauty, in the sacred casket at the most exalted spot on Mount Carmel.
… This gathering took place on Naw-Ruz and definitive arrangements were made, with glad tidings telegraphed to the Holy Land.
O you two firm ones in the Covenant! Praise be to God that on Naw-Ruz day, the pictured spirit, the luminous form of His Holiness the Exalted One found its resting place with the utmost joy and gladness in the purified sepulcher on God's mountain, Mount Carmel, the sacred spot.
The sacred shrine of His Holiness the Exalted One (may my spirit be sacrificed for Him) is rising day by day in the intense heat. Soon a magnificent grand level surrounded by multiple spaces will be completed with perfect solidity.
No other spot in the world is as pleasant and vivifying as this realm, nor can rival it in beauty and majesty. On this mountain (Carmel), the Prophets of Israel spent Their nights in prayer and supplication. Its soil has been blessed by the footsteps of the Prophets.
The great spiritual value attached to the visit of the Holy Tomb of Baha'u'llah is not known today but ere long it will become evident.
During the Feast Days one is reminded more forcibly of the Days of Baha'u'llah, more particularly the Days of Rizwan. Consider how different it is now! During the life-time of the Blessed Perfection on Rizwan days we used to go into His Holy Presence; now during those self-same days we go visit His radiant Tomb....
Regarding the mourning of the day of the ascension [of Baha'u'llah], should one spend nine days in prayerful vigil, supplication, and remembrance, and likewise should one spend seven days at the time of the commemoration of the martyrdom of the Bab in mourning and lamentation, this will redound to greater spirituality.
On the 28th of Sha'ban, the day of martyrdom of His Holiness the Exalted One (may my soul be sacrificed for Him), a group of divine friends should visit on behalf of this servant the illumined graves of the martyrs and fragrant tombs of those near to the Divine Threshold in Tehran, as representatives of Abdul-Baha.
As for the assured maidservant of God Khanum-Bashi and the near maidservant of God Ruhaniyyih, wife of Aqa Abdul-Rahim, who arranged a gathering and invited the divine loved ones to engage in remembrance of the Worshipped Lord on the Day of Ascension - this deed is most meritorious and acceptable. I ask God to make them successful and confirmed in outstanding services.
Further quotations · supplied wording and references
The Baha'i year consists of 19 months of 19 days each (i.e. 361 days), with the addition of certain "Intercalary Days" (four in ordinary and five in leap years) between the eighteenth and nineteenth months in order to adjust the calendar to the solar year. The Bab named the months after the attributes of God. The Baha'i New Year, like the ancient Persian New Year, is astronomically fixed, commencing at the March equinox (usually March 21), and the Baha'i era commences with the year of the Bab's declaration (i.e. 1844 A.D., 1260 A.H.).
For thought and discussion