The Greater Columbia Bahá'í Community

The Bahá’í calendar is made up of 19 months of 19 days each, with an intercalary day period of four days (five during leap years). The new year (Naw-Rúz) begins on the March 20th of the Gregorian calendar. There are eleven Holy Days in the Bahá’í calendar. Of these, there are nine on which work should be suspended. The only exceptions are the Day of the Covenant and the Ascension of `Abdu’l-Bahá.

Since Abdu’l-Bahá was born on the same day as the Declaration of the Báb, Bahá’ís commemorate and celebrate Abdu’l-Bahá’s life on the Day of the Covenant. This was according to Abdu’l-Bahá’s wishes. The Festival of Ridván is a celebration that commemorates Bahá’u’lláh’s public declaration of His station as a Manifestation and Messenger of God. The first, ninth and twelfth days of Ridván coincide with particular events that took place on those days.