Calendar of Important Baha’i Dates – Cedar Rapids Time Capsule Document

Description: A printed document of three columns. Note that these dates are accurate for years when the Badí’ calendar starts on March 21st. A PDF of the original document is reproduced below.

Bahá’í Holy Days

Feast of Naw-Rúz (Bahá’í New Year), March 21.
Riḍván Festival (Declaration of Bahá’u’lláh), April 21 – May 2.
Declaration of the Báb, May 29.
Martyrdom of the Báb, July 9.
Birth of the Báb, October 20.
Birth of Bahá’u’lláh, November 12.
Day of the Covenant, November 26.
Ascension of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, November 28

Bahá’í Holy Days on Which Work Should Be Suspended

The Feast of Naw-Rúz, March 21.
The first day of Riḍván, April 21.
The ninth day of Riḍván, April 29.
The twelfth day of Riḍván, May 2.
The anniversary of the declaration of the Báb, May 23.
The anniversary of the ascension of Bahá’u’lláh, May 29.
The anniversary of the martyrdom of the Báb, July 9.
The anniversary of the birth of the Báb, October 20.
The anniversary of the birth of Bahá’u’lláh, November 12.

Days of Fasting

Nineteen days beginning March 2.

Special Events Days

Race Unity Day*
June 11, 2000
International Day of Peace
September 19, 2000
Universal Children’s Day
October 2, 2000
United Nations Day
October 24, 2000
United Nations Human Rights Day
December 10, 2000
World Religion Day*
January 16, 2000; January 21, 2001
* Established by the National Spiritual Assembly, but increasingly observed by non-Bahá’í individuals and organizations

Calendar of Nineteen Day Feasts

Ayyám-i-Há (Intercalary Days) February 26 to March 1 inclusive – four in ordinary and five in leap years

Bahá’í Anniversaries

“The Bahá’í day starts and ends at sunset, and consequently the date of the celebrations of Bahá’í feasts should be adjusted to conform to the Bahá’í calendar time. For further particulars on this subject, you should refer to the section entitled ‘Bahá’í Calendar’ in ‘The Bahá’í World.’
“The Guardian would advise that, if feasible, the friends should commemorate certain of the feasts and anniversaries at the following time:
“The anniversary of the declaration of the Báb on May 22nd, at about two hours after sunset;
“The first day of Riḍván, at about 3 P.M. on the 21st of April;
“The anniversary of the martyrdom of the Báb on July 8th, at about noon;
“The anniversary of the ascension of Bahá’u’lláh, on May 29th, at 3 A.M.
“The ascension of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá on November 29th, at 1 A.M.
“On other anniversaries the believers are free to gather at any time during the day which they find convenient.”

On behalf of Shoghi Effendi, letter dated November 28, 1938

“Regarding your question of the proper time to celebrate or hold our meetings of commemoration: the time should be fixed by counting after sunset; the Master passed away one hour after midnight, which falls a certain number of hours after sunset; so His passing should be commemorated according to the sun and regardless of daylight saving time. The same applies to the Ascension of Bahá’u’lláh who passed away about eight hours after sunset.”

Shoghi Effendi, in Principles of Baha’i Administration, pp. 56-57

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