Tshwane Bahá’ís join the Bahá’í communities all around the world to celebrate their New Year (Naw-Ruz) on 20 March. Celebrations take different forms throughout the world but typically include programs of spiritual upliftment and music. The Bahá’í Faith – the youngest of the world’s independent religions – has a new calendar based on the solar year.
The year is divided into nineteen months of nineteen days each month. Four intercalary days are added (and in the leap years a fifth day) to make up the year. The months are named after some of the attributes of God such as might, glory and grandeur. The Bahá’í calendar dates its years from 1844, which marks the beginning of the Bahá’í Era. This year is 178 B.E. (Bahá’í Era). Naw-Ruz is the first day of the first of 19 months in the Bahá’í calendar.
Naw-Ruz coincides with the vernal (spring) equinox in northern hemisphere, the first day of spring. It is the time of freshness and renewal in nature. It is also symbolic of the periodic renewal of the religion of God – the coming of the spiritual spring. As the Bahá’í Writings state: “At the time of the vernal equinox in the material world a wonderful vibrant energy and new life-quickening is observed everywhere in the vegetable kingdom; the animal and human kingdoms are resuscitated and move forward with a new impulse. … Likewise, the spiritual bounty and springtime of God quicken the world of humanity with a new animus and vivification. All the virtues which have been deposited and potential in human hearts are being revealed from that Reality as flowers and blossoms from divine gardens. It is a day of joy, a time of happiness, a period of spiritual growth”.
Bahá’u’lláh, the founder of the Bahá’í Faith, taught that there is only one God and that all the world’s religions have been progressive stages in the revelation of God’s will and purpose for humanity. The conviction that we belong to one human family is at the heart of the Bahá’í Faith.
The principle of the oneness of humankind is “the pivot round which all the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh revolve”. The other principles of the Bahá’í Faith include the elimination of all forms of prejudice; the equality of men and women; recognition of the essential oneness of the world’s great religions; the elimination of extremes of poverty and wealth; universal education; a high standard of personal conduct; the harmony of science and religion; and the establishment of a world federal system, based on collective security and the oneness of humanity.
The worldwide Baha’i community, composed of people from virtually every background, is working to give practical expression to Bahá’u’lláh’s vision of a peaceful and prosperous world; and in thousands of locations around the world, the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh inspire individuals and communities as they work to improve their own lives and contribute to the advancement of civilization.
For feedback please contact: tshwane@bahai.org.za; or call 083 794 0819 Websites: www.bahai.org, www.bahai.org.za
