Cairo's Baha'is Celebrate in a Park

In an unprecedented coverage, one of Egypt's major newspapers reported in its front page on some of the Baha'is of Cairo celebrating their new year in one of the city's parks.

Al-Masry Al-Youm newspaper, in its 27 March 2008 issue, published an article on the Baha'is celebrating the end of their annual fast and the advent of their new year on the 21st of March. The article was accompanied by a photograph of the group of families gathered in Maryland public park of Cairo. A follow-up article addressing the misleading subtitle was published here on 29 March.

The newspaper reported that the Baha'is were free to celebrate and that the celebration was not interfered with by the state security. It also mentioned that during the celebration, called Naw Ruz, they read from their Holy Book, after which each family returns to its home and resume its usual devotions.

Baha'is in the Park (Cairo, 21 March)

The following paragraphs regarding the Baha'i Fast are quoted from the website of the Baha'i International Community:

As has been the case with other revealed religions, the Bahá'í Faith sees great value in the practice of fasting as a discipline for the soul . Bahá'u'lláh designated a nineteen-day period each year when adult Bahá'ís fast from sunrise to sunset each day. This period coincides with the Bahá'í month of Ala (meaning Loftiness), from March 2 to 20, inclusive. This is the month immediately preceding the Bahá'í new year, which occurs the day of the vernal equinox; and the period of fasting is therefore viewed as a time of spiritual preparation and regeneration for a new year's activities. Women who are nursing or pregnant, the aged, the sick, the traveler, those engaged in heavy labor, as well as children under the age of fifteen, are exempt from observance of the Fast.

"The fasting period, which lasts nineteen days starting as a rule from the second of March every year and ending on the twentieth of the same month, involves complete abstention from food and drink from sunrise till sunset. It is essentially a period of meditation and prayer, of spiritual recuperation, during which the believer must strive to make the necessary readjustments in his inner life, and to refresh and reinvigorate the spiritual forces latent in his soul. Its significance and purpose are, therefore, fundamentally spiritual in character. Fasting is symbolic, and a reminder of abstinence from selfish and carnal desires."

Fasting is the cause of awakening man. The heart becomes tender and the spirituality of man increases. This is produced by the fact that man's thoughts will be confined to the commemoration of God, and through this awakening and stimulation surely ideal advancements follow... Fasting is of two kinds, material and spiritual. The material fasting is abstaining from food or drink, that is, from the appetites of the body. But spiritual, ideal fasting is this, that man abstain from selfish passions, from negligence and from satanic animal traits. Therefore, material fasting is a token of the spiritual fasting. That is: 'O God! As I am fasting from the appetites of the body and not occupied with eating and drinking, even so purify and make holy my heart and my life from aught else save Thy Love, and protect and preserve my soul from self-passions... Thus may the spirit associate with the Fragrances of Holiness and fast from everything else save Thy mention.'

It must be said that this example represents the true face of Egypt, and not the other face that is occasionally promoted by extremist elements. Egypt, by nature, can be quite tolerant and open to various beliefs and points of view. Peaceful Egyptian citizens, regardless of their religious affiliation, deserve to be always treated with dignity and respect and to enjoy their full citizenship rights. The Baha'is of Egypt are still awaiting the issue of ID cards, birth certificates and all other required official documents.

Ayyam-i-Ha = Intercalary Days

The following quote gives an explanation of the current festive days celebrated by the Baha'is worldwide:

"Known as the Ayyam-i-Ha (the Days of Ha), the Intercalary Days have the distinction of being associated with "the letter Ha". The abjad numerical value of this Arabic letter is five, which corresponds to the potential number of intercalary days. The letter "Ha" has been given several spiritual meanings in the Holy Writings, among which is as a symbol of the Essence of God."
(Kitab-i-Aqdas p. 178)

And below is an article published four years ago in the Baha'i World News Service. In addition to clarifying the meaning of this period of celebration, the article provides a glimpse of the multitude of ways Baha'is from around the world tend to celebrate these days according to their individual cultures and preferences:


Festival serves as preparation for fast

SINGAPORE, 25 February 2003 (BWNS) -- Baha'is in more than 200 countries and territories are celebrating a four-day festival involving hospitality, gift giving, charity and social gatherings.

The festival, which runs from the evening of 25 February until sunset on 1 March, serves as a spiritual preparation for a fast during the last month of the Baha'is calendar, which begins on March 2 and ends on March 20.

Celebrations of Ayyam-i-Ha, as the festival is called, are taking different forms in different locations. In Singapore, for example, Baha'is are observing Ayyam-i-Ha with a blood donation drive and a picnic for families in a beachside park.

In Hungary, Baha'is plan to celebrate the festival with a musical program and a costume party for children in the Hungarian Culture Foundation building in Budapest.

In Milford, New Hampshire, in the United States, the Baha'is have invited friends and neighbors to join them for devotions and then entertainment, which will include learning a local folk dance, watching jugglers, enjoying music, and gift-giving.

The Baha'i calendar was initiated by the Bab, the Forerunner of the Faith's Prophet-Founder, Baha'u'llah, who later confirmed it.

The calendar comprises 19 months of 19 days. The Ayyam-i-Ha festival falls on the four days (five in a leap year) needed to balance out the solar year of 365 days. The time of this festival is also known as "Intercalary Days".

Of this period Baha'u'llah writes: "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."

During the fast which follows, Baha'is abstain from food and drink between sunrise and sunset as a reminder of the need for individuals to control their material desires. It is seen as a time of meditation and prayer during which Baha'is refresh and reinvigorate themselves spiritually.

There are exemptions from the fast for the young and elderly, and for those who are pregnant, ill or who are engaging in heavy work.

The fasting period ends with the joyous Naw Ruz (New Year) festival, which begins at sunset on March 20.

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