307. Determining When the Fast Ends and Naw-Rúz is Celebrated

307

Determining When the Fast Ends and Naw-Rúz is Celebrated

3 May 2018

To three Bahá’ís

Dear Bahá’í Friends,

307.1 The Universal House of Justice has received your email letter of 20 March 2018 concerning when Naw-Rúz should be celebrated. We have been asked to convey the following.

307.2 In “Questions and Answers”, number 35, in The Kitáb-i-Aqdas: The Most Holy Book, Bahá’u’lláh states: “The Festival of Naw-Rúz falleth on the day that the sun entereth the sign of Aries, even should this occur no more than one minute before sunset.” The expression referring to the sun’s entering the sign of Aries is the traditional way of designating the vernal equinox, the moment in which the sun crosses the plane of the earth’s equator into the northern hemisphere. In a letter dated 15 May 1940 written on his behalf to a National Spiritual Assembly, Shoghi Effendi stated, “Regarding Naw-Rúz: if the vernal equinox falls on the 21st March before sunset it is celebrated on that day. If at any time after sunset, Naw-Rúz will then, as stated by Bahá’u’lláh, fall on the 22nd. As to which spot should be regarded as the standard, this is a matter which the Universal House of Justice will have to decide.”

307.3 The moment of the vernal equinox is independent of any geographical location on the earth. However, as indicated by the above-quoted letter written on behalf of the Guardian, to determine the Bahá’í day on which the vernal equinox occurs, this moment must be compared with sunset. A location was required to serve as the standard for determining the Bahá’í day on which the vernal equinox occurs and thereby the day of Naw-Rúz for the Bahá’í world. As announced in its message dated 10 July 2014 to the Bahá’ís of the world, the House of Justice decided that Ṭihrán would serve as this location.

307.4 The moment of the vernal equinox this year in Ṭihrán was 20 March 2018 at 19:45 Iran Standard Time. Since in Ṭihrán the moment of the vernal equinox occurred after sunset on 20 March, Naw-Rúz was celebrated by Bahá’ís in their respective locations on the Bahá’í day that fell between sunset on 20 March and sunset on 21 March. Therefore, the Gregorian calendar equivalent of Naw-Rúz for this year was 21 March.\

307.5 The nineteen days preceding the day of Naw-Rúz constitute the month of fasting. The Fast ends and Naw-Rúz begins at sunset on 19 ‘Alá’. The moment of the vernal equinox marks the day on which Naw-Rúz, 1 Bahá, falls; the vernal equinox is not the moment when the Bahá’í celebration begins. You may also be interested to know that the age-old practice in Iran of marking the start of the Iranian festival of Naw-Rúz according to the exact moment of the occurrence of the vernal equinox is not relevant to the implementation of the Badí‘ calendar.

With loving Bahá’í greetings,

Department of the Secretariat