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Bahá’ís celebrating their most holy festival
DEAR EDITOR,
For 12 days at the end of April and beginning of May, Baha’i communities in Guyana and around the world celebrate their most holy festival: Ridván.
The twelve day Festival of Ridván, celebrated April 21 to May 2, is considered the holiest for members of the Bahá’í Faith. During those dates in 1863, Bahá’u’lláh, the founder of the Bahá’í Faith, left Baghdad and entered gardens now known as the Garden of Ridván, which means paradise in Arabic
This annual festival marks the anniversary of the 12 days spent along the River Tigris in Baghdad by Bahá’u’lláh, during which His many admirers in the city came to bid Him farewell. Baha’u’llah announced to the friends gathered with Him during those days that He was God’s Messenger for a new age, foretold in the world’s scriptures. He called the garden they were gathered in “Ridván,” meaning “paradise.”
The Ridván period was also a time when Baha’u’llah proclaimed the foundational spiritual principles that lie at the heart of His teachings—signaling the arrival of a new stage in the evolution of the life of humanity, characterized by peace and an end to violence.
Today, the festival of Ridván is the most joyous of Bahá’í holy days. In villages, towns, and cities around the world, Baha’i communities of all racial backgrounds celebrate these special days with gatherings open to all.
In thousands of localities around the globe on the first day of Ridván, Baha’is also vote for their local governing councils. And throughout the 12-day festival of Ridván, national conventions are held in some 180 countries and territories, during which delegates gather to vote for their National Spiritual Assembly, a nine-member council responsible for guiding, coordinating, and stimulating the activities of the Bahá’ís in its jurisdiction. Bahá’í elections are distinct for their lack of nomination and campaigning.
In Guyana currently there are several Local Baha’i administrative institutions and one National Institution
Yours faithfully
Rooplall Dudhnath
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