Tag Archives Baha’i Holy Days

Baha’i Feasts & Holy Days Songbook – A Musical Initiative by Jack Lenz

Art & Creative Works, Interviews, Music 2 Comments

I grew up learning the names of the Baha’i months in Arabic and English thanks to Jack Lenz’s “Song of the Months” and I repeatedly played the song to my own children so they too would be familiar with them. It’s a delightfully catchy tune, particularly when you sing “Sovereignty, Dominion and Loftiness!” (If you’re familiar with the song, I’m sure it’s in your head now!)

Jack is a brilliant musician and composer and I’m excited that he has a new project that revolves around the Baha’i calendar and the celebrations and commemorations in the Baha’i year: a songbook, CDs of those songs (both instrumental and a cappella), and a book of the vocal scores. All three are available for purchase, either physically or digitally. In this interview, Jack tells us all about his project and I hope it makes you as excited as I am. Here’s what he said: Continue reading →

Two Awesome 12 Day Ridvan Celebrations Online!

Holy Days, Videos 2 Comments

We’ve seen a diverse flourishing of online Baha’i-inspired initiatives in recent days and weeks as more and more people self-isolate due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. As Baha’is and their friends around the world celebrate the 12 days of Ridvan in creative ways that are in keeping with the recommendations of health authorities, we’re especially excited to share two awesome initiatives which are taking place each of the 12 days of Ridvan to celebrate the whole Festival online.  Continue reading →

Garden of Ridvan: The Story of the Festival of Ridvan for Young Children

Books, Holy Days Leave a comment

Alhan Rahimi, who you may remember from her children’s book about the Declaration of the Bab or her book about the Birth of the Bab, has just released a new work for little ones related to Baha’i history and its holy days. Her latest book, illustrated by Alina Onipchenko, is called Garden of Ridvan: The Story of the Festival of Ridvan for Young Children and it’s a fantastic resource.

Told from the perspective of one of the garden’s nightingales, this book features soft colorful images and repetition. Written with children around 5 years old or younger in mind, this book is sure to help foster an understanding of the beauty and significance of the Festival of Ridvan.  Continue reading →

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 6 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 →