Two significant times of the year for Baha'is will occur before our next meeting (in March):
Ayyám-i-Há (Intercalary Days) - February 26-29 - This period between the 18th and 19th month of the Baha'i calendar completes the 365-366 days of the solar year. Bahá’u’lláh referred to this period as, “days of giving that precede the season of restraint [i.e. the 19-day period of Fasting]”, and enjoined upon His followers to devote these days to feasting, rejoicing and charity.
The Bahá’í Fast – During the final month (Loftiness) in the Bahá’í calendar before Naw Ruz, the New Year celebration on the day of the Vernal Equinox, Bahá’ís observe the Fast, refraining from food and drink from sunrise to sunset each day. The Fast is a period of reflection and spiritual renewal in preparation for the beginning of a new year. “[T]his material fast is an outer token of the spiritual fast; it is a symbol of self-restraint, the withholding of oneself from all appetites of the self, taking on the characteristics of the spirit, being carried away by the breathings of heaven and catching fire from the love of God.”
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