Celebrating the Festival of Ridvan

THE EDITOR, Sir:

FOR 12 DAYS at the end of April and beginning of May, i.e., April 21 to May 2, every year Baha’i communities around the world would celebrate their most holy festival — Ridvan.

This annual festival marks the anniversary of the days Baha’u’llah the prophet, Founder of the Bhaa’i Faith, spent along the River Tigris in Baghdad. In 1863, Baha’u’llah stayed in a garden on the banks of the Tigris River for 12 days, during which His many admirers in the city came to bid Him farewell. Baha’u’llah announced to the friends gathered with Him during those days that He was God’s Messenger for a new age, foretold in the world’s scriptures.

He called the garden they were gathered in ‘Ridvan’, meaning ‘paradise’. The Ridvan period was also a time when Baha’u’llah proclaimed the foundational spiritual principles that lie at the heart of His teachings—signalling the arrival of a new stage in the evolution of the life of humanity, characterised by peace and an end to violence.

The Festival of Ridvan is observed according to the Baha’i calendar, and begins on the 32nd day of the Baha’i year, which falls on April 20 or 21. The festival properly starts at two hours before sunset on that day, which symbolises the time that Baha’u’llah entered the garden. On the first, ninth, and 12th days, which are Baha’i Holy Days, work is suspended. Currently, the three holy days are usually observed with a community gathering where prayers are shared, followed with a celebration

Today, the festival of Ridvan is the most joyous of Baha’i holy days. In villages, towns, and cities around the world, Baha’i communities celebrate these special days with gatherings open to all.

ROOPLALL DUDHNATH