Dates for your 2006 calendar

February
26 Ayyám-i-Há
Days of hospitality and charity that precede the Bahá’í period of fasting.

March
2 Bahá’í fast begins
Adult Bahá’ís fast from sunrise to sunset for nineteen days. It is an important time for prayer, reading and spiritual renewal.

21 Naw-Ruz
Marks the end of the nineteen-day fast and the beginning of the Bahá’í New Year, which coincides with the start of Spring. It is a time of great celebration for Bahá’ís as they look forward to the coming year.

April
21 First Day of Ridvan
Start of a twelve-day festival celebrating Bahá’u’llah’s declaration of his mission as the Manifestation of God, bringer of divine revelation for this age. His declaration took place in the Ridván Garden before he left Baghdad.

May
23 Declaration of the Bab
Celebrates the Bab’s declaration of his mission as the messenger of God. The Bab, a title for Mirza Ali Muhammad, prepared the way for the coming of Bahá’u’llah and was co-founder of the Bahá’í faith.

29 Ascension of Bahá’u’llah
Solemn commemoration of the ascension of the Bahá’í faith’s founder. Meetings are held in the small hours of the morning.

July
9 Martyrdom of the Bab
Commemorates the Bab’s execution in 1850, after which his teachings continued to spread.

October
20 Birthday of the Bab
Celebrates the birthday of the Bab, co-founder of the Bahá’í faith, who was born in 1819 in Shiraz, Persia.

November
12 Birthday of Bahá’u’llah
Celebrates the birth of Bahá’u’llah, one of the twin founding figures of the Bahá’í faith, who was born in 1817 in Tehran, Persia.