Ayyám-i-Há is a period of

intercalary day Intercalation or embolism in timekeeping is the insertion of a leap day, week, or month into some calendar years to make the calendar follow the seasons or moon phases. Lunisolar calendars may require intercalations of both days and months. ...

s in the

Baháʼí calendar The Badíʻ calendar used in the Baháʼí Faith is a solar calendar consisting of nineteen months and four or five intercalary days, with new year at the moment of Northern spring equinox. Each month is named after a virtue(e.g. Perfection, Mercy ...

, when Baháʼís celebrate the Festival of Ayyám-i-Há. The four or five days of this period are inserted between the last two months of the calendar (Mulk and ʻAláʼ). The length of Ayyám-i-Há varies according to the timing of the following vernal equinox so that the next year always starts on the vernal equinox. 2022 has five days of Ayyám-i-Há: from sunset on Thursday, February 24, to sunset on Tuesday, March 1.

History

The Báb, the founder of the Bábí Faith, instituted the

Badíʻ calendar Badíʻ (18521869) was an eminent early follower of Baháʼu'lláh, founder of the Baháʼí Faith, and considered one of his chief apostles. At the age of 17 he delivered a letter from Baháʼu'lláh to Náṣiri'd-Dín S͟háh, for which he was ...

in the

Persian Bayán The ''Persian Bayán'' ( fa, بیان - "expression") is one of the principal scriptural writings of the Báb, the founder of Bábi religion, written in Persian. The Báb also wrote a shorter book in Arabic, known as the Arabic Bayán. Cont ...

with 19 months of 19 days each and a period of intercalary days to allow for the calendar to be solar. The introduction of intercalation marked an important break from

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the ...

, as under the

Islamic calendar The Hijri calendar ( ar, ٱلتَّقْوِيم ٱلْهِجْرِيّ, translit=al-taqwīm al-hijrī), also known in English as the Muslim calendar and Islamic calendar, is a lunar calendar consisting of 12 lunar months in a year of 354 ...

the practice of intercalation had been condemned in the

Qurʼan The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , sing.: ...

. The Báb did not, however, specify where the intercalary days should go. Baháʼu'lláh, who claimed to be the one foretold by the Báb, confirmed and adopted the Badíʻ calendar in the

Kitáb-i-Aqdas The Kitáb-i-Aqdas (Arabic: The Most Holy Book) is the central religious text of the Baháʼí Faith, written by Baháʼu'lláh, the founder of the religion, in 1873. Though it is the main source of Baháʼí laws and practices, much of the con ...

, his book of laws. He placed the intercalary days before the fasting month of ʻAlá, the nineteenth and last month, and gave the intercalary days the name ''"Ayyám-i-Há"'' or ''"Days of Ha"''. Prior to 172 B.E. (2015 A.D.), Ayyám-i-Há was from sunset on February 25 to sunset on March 1.

Symbolism and celebration

Ayyám-i-Há means the ''"Days of Há"'' and commemorates the transcendence of God over his attributes since ''"Há"'' has been used as a symbol of the ''essence of God'' in the Baháʼí holy writings.. Under the Arabic abjad system, the letter Há has the numerical value of five, which is equal to the maximum number of days in Ayyám-i-Há in the

. During the Festival of Ayyám-i-Há Baháʼís are encouraged to celebrate God and his oneness by showing love, fellowship and unity. In many instances Baháʼís give and accept gifts to demonstrate these attributes, and because of this gift giving period, it is sometimes compared to

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...

, but many Baha'is only exchange small gifts because gifts are not the main focus. It is also a time of charity and goodwill and Baháʼís often participate in various projects of a humanitarian nature.

History

Symbolism and celebration

References

Further reading