Naw- Rúz, the Bahá’í New Year.

BAHÁ’ÍS COMMEMORATE 11 HOLY DAYS EACH YEAR. THESE OCCASIONS ARE USUALLY OBSERVED IN THE LOCAL COMMUNITY, OPEN TO ALL, AND WITH PROGRAMS BEFITTING THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE DAY.

Naw- Rúz, 2022 began at the Sunset of Sunday, 20 March and ends at the Sunset of Monday, 21 March.

Naw-Ruz is the Bahá’í New Year’s Day and coincides with the spring equinox. It is an ancient Persian festival celebrating the ‘New Day’ and it marks the end of the annual nineteen day fast that concludes the old year. Celebrations start at sunset on the day before the festival, often with gatherings for prayer, followed by a festive meal.

Baháʼu'lláh, the Prophet-Founder of the Bahá’í Faith in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, (The Most Holy Book) defines Naw-Rúz as the day on which the vernal equinox occurs.

Naw-Rúz (literally new day) is the Bahá'í new year festival and falls at the spring equinox on 21st March this year. Naw-Rúz symbolises the new life of spring.

Every year Bahá’ís from all over the world and of all cultural backgrounds  commemorate Naw-Rúz , the beginning of a new year in the Bahá’í Calendar. It is celebrated on the day of the vernal equinox in the Northern Hemisphere, with Tihran, the birthplace of Baháʼu'lláh, as its standard.  Naw-Rúz, the Baha’i New Year, and the Symbol of the Equinox.

In the Badi` calendar of the Báb, Naw-Rúz is the day of Baha of the month of Bahá, a day called by the Báb `the Day of God'. It was also the `Day of the Point' -- 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-Rúz  festivities encompassing the nineteen days of the month of Bahá, just as the traditional Iranian Naw-Rúz festivities last thirteen days.

The Báb, precursor and herald of Baháʼu'lláh, created a new calendar – called the Badi (which means “Wondrous” and “New”) calendar. It consists of 19 months of 19 days each, with four intercalary days (five in leap years) to round out the solar year. The only religious festival that the Báb instituted was Naw-Ruz. His calendar marks the first day of the new year as Naw-Rúz, which the Báb specifically set apart in honor of “Him Whom God shall make manifest,” whose advent the Báb foretold: 

God hath called that month the month of Bahá, meaning that therein lieth the splendour and glory of all months, and He hath singled it out for Him Whom God shall make manifest. – The Báb, Persian Bayan 5:3; provisional translation by Saiedi, Gate of the Heart.

Because this day was singled out “for Him Whom God shall make manifest,” Bahá’ís view Naw-Rúz as highly symbolic. Its observance among the followers of the Báb pointed forward to that messianic figure for whose imminent advent it was the Báb’s professed mission to prepare the world – Baháʼu'lláh. The Báb described Naw-Ruz as the Day of God, on which goodly acts performed would receive the recompense for same acts as though performed for an entire year. 

“Naw-Rúz not only heralds the advent of spring, but also symbolizes a spiritual springtime”

Baháʼu'lláh preserved and adapted several of the Báb's major laws to be observed by the Baha’ıs, formally ordaining Naw-Rúzas a festival for those who have observed the period of the 19-day Baha’i fast which precedes Naw-Rúz:

O Pen of the Most High! Say: O people of the world! We have enjoined upon you fasting during a brief period, and at its close have designated for you Naw-Rúz as a feast. Thus hath the Day-Star of Utterance shone forth above the horizon of the Book as decreed by Him Who is the Lord of the beginning and the end. – Baháʼu'lláh, The Most Holy Book

It is a time of joy and celebration, with the darkness of winter coming to an end and the reappearance of light, warmth and the beauty of spring’s flowers. It is a day of new beginnings – of change and hope.

Naw-Rúz may be sacred or secular, depending on the setting. For Bahá’ís, Naw-Rúz is sacred, imbued with the symbolism of spiritual renewal.

“Naw-Rúz is our New Year, a Feast of hospitality and rejoicing“

As the first day of the Bahá’í New Year, Naw-Rúz coincides with the spring equinox in the Northern Hemisphere, which typically occurs on March 21. However, since Baháʼu'lláh enjoined that this festival be celebrated on whatever day the sun passes into the constellation of Aries – that is, the vernal equinox – Naw-Rúz could fall on March 19, 20, 21, or 22, depending on the precise time of the equinox. 

The Baháʼí calendar started from the original Badíʿ calendar, created by the Báb in the Kitabu'l-Asmáʼand the Persian Bayán in the 1840s. An early version of the calendar began to be implemented during His time. It used a scheme of 19 months of 19 days (19×19) for 361 days, plus intercalary days to make the calendar a solar calendar. The first day of the early implementation of the calendar year was Nowruz, while the intercalary days were assigned differently than the later Baháʼí implementation. The calendar contains many symbolic meanings and allusions including connections to prophecies of the Báb about the next Manifestation of God termed He whom God shall make manifest.

Baháʼu'lláh, the founder of the Baháʼí Faith, who claimed to be the one prophesied by the Báb, confirmed and adopted this calendar. Around 1870, he instructed Nabíl-i-Aʻzam, the author of The Dawn-Breakers, to write an overview of the Badíʿ calendar. In the Kitáb-i-Aqdas (1873) Baháʼu'lláh made Naw-Rúz the first day of the year, and also clarified the position of the Intercalary days to immediately precede the last month. 

Baháʼu'lláh set Naw-Rúz to the day on which the sun passes into the constellation Aries.

Bahá’í communities typically observe Naw-Rúz and meetings that combine prayerful devotions with joyous fellowship. The Guardian of the Bahá’í Faith, Shoghi Effendi, said “Naw-Rúz is our New Year, a Feast of hospitality and rejoicing.” – Directives from the Guardian.

However, for Bahá’ís, Naw-Rúz also has deep spiritual significance.

Naw-Rúz  marks the end of the 19-day Bahá’í Fast, which is a period of reflection and profound spiritual reinvigoration for Bahá’ís. Naw-Rúz   was ordained by Baháʼu'lláh as a celebration of humanity’s “spiritual springtime”: the Bahá’í dispensation.

The Bahá’í dispensation began with the Declaration of the Báb, whose entire mission was to prepare the world for a Divine Teacher with a Message He considered greater than His own: Baháʼu'lláh. The revelation of Baháʼu'lláh – the latest in humanity’s long history of receiving Divine Teachings through the Messengers of God – is often, in Bahá’í Writings, likened to the beginning of springtime.

 ʻAbdu'l-Bahá spoke of the effect that Baha’u’llah’s revelation – like the revelations of the previous Manifestations of God in previous Dispensations – had on the world, and likens it to a spiritual springtime:

" At the time of the vernal equinox in the material world a wonderful vibrant energy and new life-quickening is observed everywhere in the vegetable kingdom; the animal and human kingdoms are resuscitated and move forward with a new impulse. The whole world is born anew, resurrected. Gentle zephyrs are set in motion, wafting and fragrant; flowers bloom; the trees are in blossom, the air temperate and delightful; how pleasant and beautiful become the mountains, fields and meadows."

" Likewise, the spiritual bounty and springtime of God quicken the world of humanity with a new animus and vivification. All the virtues which have been deposited and potential in human hearts are being revealed from that Reality as flowers and blossoms from divine gardens. It is a day of joy, a time of happiness, a period of spiritual growth. I beg of God that this divine spiritual civilization may have the fullest impression and effect upon you. May you become as growing plants. May the trees of your hearts bring forth new leaves and variegated blossoms. May ideal fruits appear from them in order that the world of humanity, which has grown and developed in material civilization, may be quickened in the bringing forth of spiritual ideals."

Surrounded by the changes in the physical world accompanying the vernal equinox and the beginning of spring, Bahá’ís are provided with a profoundly beautiful opportunity to contemplate on beginnings and renewal, and in particular, what it means to stand at the beginning of a new Dispensation in the history of humanity’s eternal Covenant with God.

The spiritual significance of the vernal equinox – and the promise of a New Day that the Baha’i observance of Naw-Rúz celebrates – is best captured in these words by  ʻAbdu'l-Bahá :

Do you know in what day you are living? Do you realize in what dispensation you are alive? Have you not read in the holy scriptures that the consummation of the ages there shall appear a day which is the sun of all the past days?

This is the day in which the Lord of Hosts has come down from heaven on the clouds of glory! This is the day in which the inhabitants of all the world shall enter under the tent of the word of God. This is the day whose real sovereign is His Highness, The Almighty. This is the day when the East and the West shall embrace each other like unto two lovers. This is the day in which war and contention shall be forgotten. This is the day in which nations and governments will enter into an eternal bond of amity and conciliation. This century is the fulfillment of the Promised Century.

The East shall become illumined, the West perfumed and the children of men shall enter beneath the all-embracing canopy of the oneness of the world of humanity.

The foundation of divine religion is love, affinity and concord. Praise God that this cycle is the period of illumination! Minds have made great progress; intelligences have been unfolded; the means of unity and agreement are brought about; communication between the races of men is rapidly established. Now is the time that all of us may embrace the law of peace and treat each other with honesty and straightforwardness. Let the religious prejudices be wiped away. Let the law of racial supremacy be discontinued. Let political expediences be done away with. Let the love of country be superseded by the love of the world. Let us all deal with each other with infinite kindness. We are all the servants at the one Divine Threshold. We are all receiving the rays of truth from the same Sun of Reality. We must all believe in all of the prophets. We must all acknowledge the divine authority of all the heavenly books. We must wash our hearts free of all human prejudices. We must serve God. We must propagate the oneness of the realm of humanity. We must be the cause of the appearance of the perfections of the world of man. We must not be like the beasts of prey. We must not allow carnage and bloodshed. We must regard the blood of man as sacred. We must not shed the holy blood of man for the paltry earth. We must all agree upon one fundamental principle – that principle is the oneness of the kingdom of humanity.

In this age, Baháʼu'lláh has breathed the Holy Spirit into the dead body of the world. Consequently every weak soul is strengthened by these fresh divine outbreathings. Every poor man will become rich, every darkened soul will become illumined, every ignorant one will become wise, because the confirmations of the Holy Spirit are descending like unto torrents. A new era of divine consciousness is upon us. The world of humanity is going through a process of transformation. A new race is being developed. The thoughts of human brotherhood are permeating all regions. New ideals are stirring the depths of hearts and a new spirit of universal consciousness is being profoundly felt by all men.

The Festival of Naw-Ruz, one of five annual Bahá’í festivals, starts the Bahá’í year on the very first day of spring. 

On March 21, 2010, the United Nations marked the first “International Day for Nowruz” (Persian, “New Day”), an ancient spring festival of Persian origin. Also the Zoroastrian New Year’s Day, Naw-Ruz has been celebrated for over 3,000 years, and is enjoyed today by more than 300 million people worldwide as the beginning of the new year. 

Naw-Rúz,  may be sacred or secular, depending on the setting. For Bahá’ís, Naw-Rúz,  is sacred, imbued with the symbolism of spiritual renewal.

“Naw-Rúz,  is our New Year, a Feast of hospitality and rejoicing“

As the first day of the Bahá’í New Year, Naw-Rúz coincides with the spring equinox in the Northern Hemisphere, which typically occurs on March 21. However, since Baha’u’llah enjoined that this festival be celebrated on whatever day the sun passes into the constellation of Aries – that is, the vernal equinox – Naw-Rúz,  could fall on March 19, 20, 21, or 22, depending on the precise time of the equinox. 

Bahá’í communities typically observe Naw-Rúz and meetings that combine prayerful devotions with joyous fellowship. The Guardian of the Bahá’í Faith, Shoghi Effendi, said “Naw-Rúz,  is our New Year, a Feast of hospitality and rejoicing.” – Directives from the Guardian

Bahá’ís from Iranian backgrounds may follow some traditions associated with the ancient Persian festival, but these cultural practices are kept distinct from the religious observance itself. To augment the festive joy, signal events are often scheduled to take place on Naw-Rúz, being an ideal time for momentous announcements as well.

The Báb, precursor and herald of Baha’u’llah, created a new calendar – called the Badi (which means “Wondrous” and “New”) calendar. It consists of 19 months of 19 days each, with four intercalary days (five in leap years) to round out the solar year. The only religious festival that the Báb instituted was Naw-Ruz. His calendar marks the first day of the new year as Naw-Rúz, which the Bab specifically set apart in honor of “Him Whom God shall make manifest,” whose advent the Báb foretold: 

God hath called that month the month of Baha, meaning that therein lieth the splendour and glory of all months, and He hath singled it out for Him Whom God shall make manifest. – The Báb, Persian Bayan 5:3; provisional translation by Saiedi, Gate of the Heart

Because this day was singled out “for Him Whom God shall make manifest,” Bahá’ís view Naw-Rúz as highly symbolic. Its observance among the followers of the Báb pointed forward to that messianic figure for whose imminent advent it was the Báb’s professed mission to prepare the world – Baháʼu'lláh. The Báb described Naw-Rúz as the Day of God, on which goodly acts performed would receive the recompense for same acts as though performed for an entire year. 

“Naw-Rúz not only heralds the advent of spring, but also symbolizes a spiritual springtime”

Baháʼu'lláh preserved and adapted several of the Báb's major laws to be observed by the Bahá’ís, formally ordaining Naw-Ruz as a festival for those who have observed the period of the 19-day Baha’i fast which precedes Naw-Ruz:

O Pen of the Most High! Say: O people of the world! We have enjoined upon you fasting during a brief period, and at its close have designated for you Naw-Ruz as a feast. Thus hath the Day-Star of Utterance shone forth above the horizon of the Book as decreed by Him Who is the Lord of the beginning and the end. – Baháʼu'lláh, The Most Holy Book

 ʻAbdu'l-Bahá  pens a letter (c. 1920).

Unlike the other Baháʼí holy days, which commemorate historic events in Bahá’í history, Naw-Rúz has religious significance primarily due to its symbolism of renewal. As an Indo-European language, Persian is distantly related to English, which explains why the word “naw” (pronounced “no”) in Persian is similar to the English word “new.” In that way, Naw-Rúz  not only heralds the advent of spring, but also symbolizes a “spiritual springtime.” On a personal level, the Festival of Naw-Rúz  is a time for renewal. On the occasion of Naw-Ruz in 1906, ʻAbdu'l-Bahá , the successor to Baháʼu'lláh, wrote to the American Bahá’ís saying, in part:

It is New Year … now is the beginning of a cycle of Reality, a New Cycle, a New Age, a New Century, a New Time and a New Year. … I wish this blessing to appear and become manifest in the faces and characteristics of the believers, so that they, too, may become a new people, and … may make the world a new world, to the end that … the sword be turned into the olive branch; the flash of hatred become the flame of the love of God … all races as one race; and all national anthems harmonized into one melody. –  ʻAbdu'l-Bahá , Tablets of  ʻAbdu'l-Bahá.

The Festival of Naw-Rúz one of five annual Bahá’í festivals, starts the Bahá’í year on the very first day of spring. 

On March 21, 2010, the United Nations marked the first “International Day for Nowruz” (Persian, “New Day”), an ancient spring festival of Persian origin. Also the Zoroastrian New Year’s Day, Naw-Rúz has been celebrated for over 3,000 years, and is enjoyed today by more than 300 million people worldwide as the beginning of the new year. 

Naw-Rúz is one of nine Baháʼí holy days where work and school must be suspended; the only one that is not associated with an event in the lives of either the Báb or Baháʼu'lláh. It is usually a festive event observed with meetings for prayer and music and dancing.

In this way this ancient Zoroastrian holy day and Persian springtime festival has been transformed into a Bahá’í holy day, which has, as its animating purpose, the creation of a new world in which a new era of peace and prosperity may be brought about through the universal Bahá’í principles of unity through diversity, famously expressed by Baháʼu'lláh in 1890 during an historic visit by Cambridge orientalist Edward G. Browne, in these oft-quoted words:

That all nations should become one in faith and all men as brothers; that the bonds of affection and unity between the sons of men should be strengthened; that diversity of religion should cease, and differences of race be annulled—what harm is there in this? … Yet so it shall be; these fruitless strifes, these ruinous wars shall pass away, and the “Most Great Peace” shall come. – The Proclamation of Baháʼu'lláh.

Bahá’ís see this “New Day” as having transformed the vernal equinox into a universal celebration of the oneness of humanity.

A very blessed Naw-Rúz to all our dear readers!