Ayyam-i-Ha a time of giving and hospitality
February 26, 2010 - 1:00am
Baha'is celebrate the festival of Ayyam-i-Ha each year from sunset on Feb. 25 to sunset of March 1 as a preparation for the Fast, which begins March 2 and ends March 20. During Ayyam-i-Ha, members of the Faith perform acts of charity, give gifts to friends and family, and attend social gatherings.
Baha'u'llah has said of Ayyam-i-Ha: "It behoveth the people of Baha, throughout these days, to provide good cheer for themselves, their kindred and, beyond them, the poor and needy, and with joy and exultation to hail and glorify their Lord, to sing His praise and magnify His Name."
It behoveth the people of Baha, throughout these days, to provide good cheer for themselves, their kindred and, beyond them, the poor and needy, and with joy and exultation to hail and glorify their Lord, to sing His praise and magnify His Name."
--Baha'u'llah
So wrote Baha'u'llah, Founder of the Baha'i Faith, on how to observe the festival of Ayyam-i-Ha, which goes from sunset Feb. 25 to sunset March 1.
The holiday comes near the end of the Baha'i calendar, which is composed of 19 months of 19 days each, totaling 361 days. To harmonize with the 365-day (366 in leap years) Gregorian calendar, the Baha'i calendar adds four or five "intercalary days." Ayyam-i-Ha occurs during this period.
Ayyam-i-Ha is followed by a three-week-long Fast, which culminates in the Baha'i New Year, Naw-Ruz, on the first day of spring. (Look for our March 2007 newsletter for stories about these two major events.)
Ayyam-i-Ha is a time of gift-giving, performing acts of charity and attending social gatherings. Many Baha'is also decorate their homes with lights, banners and flowers. Baha'is tend to downplay the gift-giving part of Ayyam-i-Ha and focus on the spiritual aspect of the holiday by getting together with family and friends for devotions and special meals, and participating in projects to help those in need.
Curtis Wynne, a Baha'i in Hobbs, N.M., admits "it's hard to get my 12 grandchildren through the Christmas season. I have to keep telling them, 'Wait a few months until Ayyam-i-Ha!'" When he and his wife were raising their five children, they put pinatas in the front yard, which he says caused quite a few cars to slow down. His neighbors however, got into the spirit and participated in some of the Wynne's Ayyam-i-Ha events.
Adult Baha'is in Hobbs hold a gift exchange party for the holiday. For the last several years, their Ayyam-i-Ha charity project has been to collect new or gently used stuffed animals for the local fire department to distribute to children who have been through a trauma. Last year the Baha'is collected more than 1,500 stuffed toys.
Ten years ago, Wynne started a website for Baha'is to share their ideas for celebrating Ayyam-i-Ha. Members of the Faith responded with a wealth of ideas.
"My family's pinatas" he says, "can't hold a candle to what you see on the site."
Happy Ayyam-i-Ha!
Baha'u'llah has said of Ayyam-i-Ha: "It behoveth the people of Baha, throughout these days, to provide good cheer for themselves, their kindred and, beyond them, the poor and needy, and with joy and exultation to hail and glorify their Lord, to sing His praise and magnify His Name."
It behoveth the people of Baha, throughout these days, to provide good cheer for themselves, their kindred and, beyond them, the poor and needy, and with joy and exultation to hail and glorify their Lord, to sing His praise and magnify His Name."
--Baha'u'llah
So wrote Baha'u'llah, Founder of the Baha'i Faith, on how to observe the festival of Ayyam-i-Ha, which goes from sunset Feb. 25 to sunset March 1.
The holiday comes near the end of the Baha'i calendar, which is composed of 19 months of 19 days each, totaling 361 days. To harmonize with the 365-day (366 in leap years) Gregorian calendar, the Baha'i calendar adds four or five "intercalary days." Ayyam-i-Ha occurs during this period.
Ayyam-i-Ha is followed by a three-week-long Fast, which culminates in the Baha'i New Year, Naw-Ruz, on the first day of spring. (Look for our March 2007 newsletter for stories about these two major events.)
Ayyam-i-Ha is a time of gift-giving, performing acts of charity and attending social gatherings. Many Baha'is also decorate their homes with lights, banners and flowers. Baha'is tend to downplay the gift-giving part of Ayyam-i-Ha and focus on the spiritual aspect of the holiday by getting together with family and friends for devotions and special meals, and participating in projects to help those in need.
Curtis Wynne, a Baha'i in Hobbs, N.M., admits "it's hard to get my 12 grandchildren through the Christmas season. I have to keep telling them, 'Wait a few months until Ayyam-i-Ha!'" When he and his wife were raising their five children, they put pinatas in the front yard, which he says caused quite a few cars to slow down. His neighbors however, got into the spirit and participated in some of the Wynne's Ayyam-i-Ha events.
Adult Baha'is in Hobbs hold a gift exchange party for the holiday. For the last several years, their Ayyam-i-Ha charity project has been to collect new or gently used stuffed animals for the local fire department to distribute to children who have been through a trauma. Last year the Baha'is collected more than 1,500 stuffed toys.
Ten years ago, Wynne started a website for Baha'is to share their ideas for celebrating Ayyam-i-Ha. Members of the Faith responded with a wealth of ideas.
"My family's pinatas" he says, "can't hold a candle to what you see on the site."
Happy Ayyam-i-Ha!
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