Naw-Ruz Festival

A small group of Baha’is and their friends living in Chicago have been engaged in hosting devotional programs and study circles and are continually expanding their activities. To extend their devotional and community-building efforts, together they prepared a program for Naw-Ruz, the Baha’i New Year.

While the Baha’i House of Worship remains closed due to COVD-19 restrictions, special arrangements were made for these friends to share and record prayers in a variety of languages at the Temple.

This 20-minute video program of lovely uplifting devotions may be used by Baha’is around the world to supplement their own local Naw-Ruz celebrations. The program will also be available for later viewing.

Thank you to the Baha’is and their friends of the ‘Azamat sector of Chicago for sharing their holy day celebration.

Naw-Ruz, Saturday, March 20, 12:30 pm CDT
Youtube or Facebook Live

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This is year 178 of the Baha’i Era, dated from 1844, the year in which the Bab began teaching and preparing the people for the coming of Baha’u’llah, Founder of the Baha’i Faith and God’s Educator for a new age of humanity. The Baha’i new year is called Naw–Ruz, which literally means, “New Day” in Persian, the language of Iran where the Baha’i Faith has its roots. Like the ancient Persian new year, the Baha’i new year occurs on the first day of spring in the Northern Hemisphere.

The Baha’i calendar has nineteen months of nineteen days each, leaving either four or five days depending on whether it is a leap year, which are known as Ayyam-i-Ha or Intercalary days.

The Baha’i month leading up to Naw-Ruz is a month of daytime fasting, used as a time of introspection and prayer. Baha’is rise before the sun to eat breakfast and pray. They break the day’s fast in the evening after sunset. The Fast offers both a physical and spiritual preparation for spring and renewal. Naw-Ruz marks the end of the Fast and is often celebrated with an especially festive meal.