Bahá'í Communities Celebrate “Naw-Rúz” (Bahá'í New Year) on March 20, 2021 (1 Bahá 178 B.E).

Every year Bahá'í Communities from all over the world and of all cultural backgrounds celebrate 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.

Baháʼu'lláh, in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas (The Most Holy Book), defines Naw-Rúz as the day on which the vernal equinox 
occurs.

The exact timing of Naw-Rúz for Baháʼís worldwide depends on the choice of a particular spot on the Earth and was left to the Universal House of Justice, the governing body of the Baháʼís of the world to decide.

In 2014, the Universal House of Justice chose Tehran as the particular spot. Since Baháʼí days start at sundown, if the equinox occurs just before sunset, the day which started on the previous sunset is Naw-Rúz.

Thus Naw-Rúz could fall on either March 20, 21st or 22nd of the Gregorian calendar, though these dates are pre-calculated years in advance.  All dates in the Baháʼí Calendar are set in relation to Naw-Rúz and thus may shift on the Gregorian calendar by a day or two depending on the timing of the vernal equinox.

Naw-Rúz, which means “New Day” and which typically falls on March 20th-22nd as mentione above, 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 has its origins as a Zoroastrian observance in ancient Iran and, to this day, is celebrated as a cultural festival by Iranians of all religious backgrounds. In addition to being celebrated by Iranians and members of the Iranian diaspora, the observance of Naw-Rúz  has also spread to many other parts of the world viz; Azerbaijan, Turkey, Iraq, Armenia, Georgia, Russia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Syria, and Tajikistan.

However, for Bahá'ís, Naw-Rúz also has deep spiritual significance. Naw-Rúz is a celebration of a “spiritual springtime” that symbolizes both individual renewal and mankind’s revitalization.

The Báb, the Founder of the Bábi Faith, who is also the Herald-Prophet of the Bahá'í Faith, instituted the Badíʻ Calendar composed of 19 months, each of 19 days. The first month, and the first day of each month, are both named Bahá, an Arabic word meaning splendour or glory. Thus Naw-Rúz, the first day of the year, is the day of Bahá in the month of Bahá. The day was called the Day of God by the Báb, and was associated with He whom God shall make manifest, a Messianic Figure in the Báb's writings.

Baháʼu'lláh, the Prophet-Founder of the Baháʼí Faith who is recognized as the Messianic Figure expected by the Báb, adopted the new calendar and the use of Naw-Rúz as a holy day.

The day follows the Baháʼí month of fasting, and He explained that Naw-Rúz was associated with the Most Great Name of God, and was instituted as a festival for those who observed the fast.

The Bahá'í Calendar, also called the Badí‘ Calendar (Badí‘ means wondrous or unique), is a solar calendar with years composed of 19 months of 19 days each 
(361 days) plus an extra period of "Intercalary Days". 

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. 

Based on the Badí‘ Calendar (Bahá'í Calendar), Naw-Rúz is the first day of the Bahá'í New Year. Years begin at Naw-Rúz, on the vernal equinox, coinciding with March 20 or 21. This year vernal equinox falls on March 
20, 2021 (1 Bahá 178 B.E). Next year Vernal Equinox - Naw-Rúz falls on 21 March 2022 (1 Bahá 179 B.E.).

The inception of the Bahá'í calendar was on Thursday, the  21 March 1844 CE, the year during which the Báb declared His mission and the Bahá'í Faith began. Years are counted with the date notation of B.E. (Bahá'í Era). The year 178 B.E. will begin on 20 
March 2021. 

Bahá'u'lláh defines Naw-Rúz as the Bahá'í day on which the vernal equinox occurs as mentioned above. It is celebrated on the day of the  astronomical Northward equinox, which usually occurs on March 20 or 21. 

This year, March 20 marks the Vernal Equinox in the Earth’s Northern 
Hemisphere and the Autumnal Equinox in the South—that day when the sun’s light strikes the Equator directly and illuminates every continent equally. 

To Baha’is the New Year also symbolizes the renewal of time in each religious dispensation.

The significance of Naw-Rúz in terms of the equinox and spring-time and the new life it brings.

 I quote from the Bahá'í Writings:  “….This sacred day when the sun illumines  equally the whole earth is called the equinox and  the equinox is the symbol of the divine  messenger….”

The celebration is often combined with a feast as the sunset before Naw-Rúz signals the end of a 19-day fast. 

In the Badi` Calendar of the Báb (Prophet-Herald of the Bahá'í Faith), Naw-Rúz is the day of Bahá 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. It was a day associated with 'Him Whom God shall make Manifest', the Promised One of the Báb (Bahá'u'lláh -The Prophet-Founder of the Bahá'í Faith).

During the six years of His mission, the Báb and His followers observed Naw-Rúz. 

Bahá'u'lláh adopted the Bábi holy day of Naw-Rúz 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 (one of the three Central Figures of the Bahá'í Faith) explained the significance of Naw-Rúz in terms of the symbolism of the new life of spring. 

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-Rúz. 

As with most Bahá'í Holy Days, there are no particular fixed rituals or practices associated with the Bahá'í holy days. So, on an international level, the celebration is generally observed with a meeting consisting of prayers, feasting and joyful celebration open to all.  Festivities can also include music and dancing. Time is spent visiting friends and relatives and exchanging gifts. 

The traditional Naw-Rúz
 holiday, from which the Baha'i holiday derives, has been celebrated since ancient times in Iran.
The UN’s General Assembly in 2010 recognized the International Day of Naw-Rúz, describing it as a spring festival. The United Nations also now recognizes March 20 as World Happiness Day. 
The origins of Naw-Rúz are unknown but it obviously began as a pastoral fertility festival. Legend attributes its foundation to the mythical antediluvian king Jamshid. 
Naw-Ruz (`New Day') is the Bahá'í and Iranian new year, which occurs on the date of the vernal equinox, about 20 or 21 March. It is one of the nine Bahá'í holy days on which work is suspended.