Tag Archives Baha’i Holy Days

19 Glimpses of the Bicentenary of the Birth of the Bab Celebrations Around the World!

Holy Days 2 Comments

It’s been so exciting to see the thousands of celebratory initiatives and activities happening around the world in honor of the Bicentenary anniversary of the Birth of the Bab, the Prophet-herald of the Baha’i Faith!

Many of these initiatives and activities have been featured on bicentenary.baha.org/the-bab/glimpses, a page created by the Baha’i World Centre in honor of this special occasion, so we thought we’d share 19 glimpses of bicentenary celebrations and events from around the world, found on the bicentenary page. Here they are listed in alphabetical order, and if you click on the country or image, it’ll take you to more related images: Continue reading →

7 Great Sites for Creating Invitation Cards for Your Community Events

Art & Creative Works, Resources 5 Comments

Let’s brainstorm! What if we named some things we might need to do when organizing an event, such as a neighborhood holy day celebration for the bicentenary of the Birth of the Bab?

Perhaps, like me, you thought about the people to invite, the programme, the food, possible music to be played (such as Bahai Blog’s Studio Sessions), the location, and then what about making invitations?!

The idea of making invitations has made me panic a little in the past, but as I’ve found, there are a lot of great online resources out there now, and so, to help us all out, I’ve created a list of seven websites to help you create your invitations. Some are free and easy-to-use, some have packaged or priced options, and two of them are for those who are more comfortable with design and programs like Photoshop.

I hope this helps and you find this list useful: Continue reading →

10 Most Popular Baha’i Blog Articles of the Year

Baha'i Blog, Resources 4 Comments

Baha’i Blog celebrates its birthday every year just after Naw-Ruz, and now that we’ve just celebrated our seventh year of Baha’i blogging, it’s time for our annual ‘Top 10’ countdown of Baha’i Blog’s most popular posts.

As you know, Baha’i Blog has an Article section, a Video section, an Audio section, an Image Gallery, a YouTube Channel and a Soundcloud page, but written articles are the first thing we started out with, and they range from news and personal reflections, to interviews and tributes.

We’re also always looking for contributions from new writers here at Baha’i Blog, so whether you’re a seasoned wordsmith or an inexperienced newbie, we would love to have you on board. If you’re interested in trying your hand at blogging about the Baha’i Faith and have an idea for a blog post that you think would fit right in, then have a read of our ‘Write For Us‘ and ‘Editorial Values‘ pages, and then send an email to: [email protected]

Now on with this Top 10 countdown! We’ve listed below, the 10 most read Baha’i Blog articles of the last year (from Naw-Ruz 2017 to Naw-Ruz 2018), based on Google Analytics. So now ladies and gentlemen, here’s the countdown starting from number 10: Continue reading →

An Interview with Ramine Yazhari About ‘Rejoice’

Interviews, Music 2 Comments

Ramine Yazhari has released a devotional album in honour of the bicentenary anniversary of the Birth of Baha’u’llah. The album is titled Rejoice and its melodies are soaring (you can stream it here on Bandcamp). Last year, Ramine released a single called ‘This Newborn Child’ and I listened to it over and over and over again, finding inspiration each time I heard it. You may also recognize Ramine’s voice from his devotional album dedicated to the centenary of Abdu’l-Baha’s travels to the West, Long Journey. I was glad to learn that Rejoice had been released and Ramine very graciously agreed to tell us a little about how the album came together. I hope you enjoy our conversation:

Continue reading →

Melissa Charepoo’s Children’s Books for Ayyam-i-Ha, the Fast & Naw-Ruz

Art & Creative Works, Books, Interviews 5 Comments

When Melissa Charepoo couldn’t find resources to explain Ayyam-i-Ha, the Fast and Naw-Ruz to her children, she went out and made them herself! I admire her gumption and devotion tremendously! She wrote and illustrated two books: Celebrating Ayyam-i-Ha Around the World and Observing the Fast and Celebrating Naw-Ruz Around the World. I am excited about Melissa’s accomplishments and wanted to hear more about the process of putting these books together.

Baha’i Blog: Hi Melissa! Thank you so much for joining us! To begin, could you please tell us a little about yourself and your work writing children’s books?

Continue reading →

The Tablet of Visitation: A Personal Reflection

Holy Days 4 Comments

They say if you want to remember a particular moment in your life, you should listen to a piece of music. Melodies help us recall the very shape and form of an experience or moment in time. The same can be said about fragrance. Wear one type of perfume for a set period and you will always associate that scent with that same period in your life.

During her last month of volunteer service in the Holy Land, my sister-in-law listened to one selection of music only. Upon her return home and whenever she heard those specific melodies, she would immediately be carried away to Israel where the memories of her last few weeks in paradise replayed vividly in her heart, mind and soul.

The Writings of the Faith have a very similar effect on one’s senses. They are a melody, a fragrance, and they have the power to transport you to a different time or place – conjuring up memories, feelings and emotions of times gone by. Continue reading →

A Conversation on Ayyam-i-Ha

Baha'i Life, Holy Days 8 Comments

As a child, there was always something magical in the anticipation of the days of Ayyam-i-Ha. Whilst each of the nineteen months of the Baha’i year reflects one of the attributes of God, these “Days of Ha”, that exist “outside of time”, signify the essence of God that transcends all of His attributes, and there is truly something mysterious and mystical about these special days.  Continue reading →

3 New Tablets for the Twin Holy Days

Holy Days 6 Comments

This year, for the first time in the history of the Baha’i Era, the Birth of the Bab and the Birth of Baha’u’llah – also known as the Twin Holy Days – will be celebrated at the same time by Baha’is all over the world (in 2015 the Twin Holy Days fall on November 13th and 14th).

In honour of this historic occasion, the Universal House of Justice released three newly translated Tablets: one celebrates the Birth of the Bab, and two are dedicated to the Birth of Baha’u’llah. These tablets, all penned by Baha’u’llah, will be included in a volume called Days of Remembrance which will be available later next year. Continue reading →

The Passing of Baha’u’llah and His Covenant

Holy Days 11 Comments

Baha'u'llah's bed in the Mansion of Bahji, located just outside of Akko, Israel. (Photo: Bahai.us via Flickr)

In the early hours of 29 May 1892, Baha’u’llah, the Founder of the Baha’i Faith, passed away in the Mansion of Bahji (located just outside of the prison city of Akko in present day Israel), where He had been a prisoner for nine years. Baha’is around the world commemorate the day of Baha’u’llah’s passing as one of the nine holy days where work should be suspended, and it is known to Baha’is as ‘The Ascension of Baha’u’llah’.

Just after sunset on the day He passed away, Baha’u’llah was buried in a simple room in a house next to the Mansion of Bahji, turning it into the holiest place on earth for Baha’is and making it the place where Baha’is the world over turn towards in prayer, and come from all corners of the earth to pay their respects as Pilgrims.

As I join fellow Baha’is around the world in commemorating the Ascension of Baha’u’llah, I am reminded of the fortune we as Baha’is have in knowing that Baha’u’llah’s successorship was made so explicit, and as a result, this has protected us from schisms. Compared to the passing of other Messengers of God, this is what has made the Baha’i Faith truly unique: The fact that for the first time in history, the founder of a world religion had made His successorship explicitly clear to His followers. Continue reading →