The Baháʼí year 181 B.E. has four days of Ayyám-i-Há from sunset on Monday, February 24, to sunset on Friday, February 28, 2025 A.D.
The Ayyám-i-Há are an integral part of the Bahá’í calendar, which is based on the solar year and begins annually at the vernal equinox in March. The pivotal point in the construction of the calendar is the number 19. Accordingly, the Bahá’í calendar knows 19 months with 19 days each, whereby a calendar day begins with the sunset of the preceding day.
The Ayyam-i-Há are the inserted days that initially serve to regularly align the calendar with the solar year. According to this Bahá’í calendar system, the Ayyám-i-Há (four or five in leap years) fall between the 18th and 19th month of the Badíʻ calendar.
Ayyám-i-Há is a period of intercalary days in the Baháʼí calendar, 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 Baháʼí calendar (Mulk and ʻAláʼ).
Ayyám-i-Há is a multiple-day Baháʼí festival that is joyously celebrated in countries and territories all over the world. It typically falls around the end of February and beginning of March (with the recent worldwide implementation of the Baháʼí or Badíʻ calendar the exact dates of Ayyám-i-Há shift and move within the Gregorian calendar).
Let us briefly look at what Ayyám-i-Há is, what it means, and how it is celebrated:
Ayyám-i-Há or the Intercalary Days, is a period dedicated to socializing, being hospitable, giving generously to the poor and needy, and preparing for the upcoming month of fasting. Depending on the year, Ayyám-i-Há will vary in its duration and it is composed of the excess of days that fall outside of the 19 months of 19 days.
In the Kitáb-i-Aqdas (The Most Holy Book, paragraph 16), Baháʼu’lláh the Prophet- Founder of the Baháʼí Faith writes:
“Let the days in excess of the months be placed before the month of fasting. We have ordained that these, amid all nights and days, shall be the manifestations of the letter Ha, and thus they have not been bounded by the limits of the year and its months. It behooveth the people of Baháʼ, throughout these days, to provide good cheer for themselves, their kindred and, beyond them, the poor and needy, and with joy and exultation to hail and glorify their Lord, to sing His praise and magnify His Name; and when they end—these days of giving that precede the season of restraint—let them enter upon the Fast.”
Ayyám-i-Há means “Days of Há”. There are many interpretations to what this means — one being that the letter “Há” is a symbol for the divine essence of God. In his book called Time and the Baháʼí Era, Gerald Keil also explains that “the abjad value of the letter Ha is 5, which is also the abjad value of the word Báb. The days of Há immediately precede the month of ‘Ala, which is the month associated with the Báb; taken together, these constitute an allusion to the fact that the Báb paved the way for His successor, with whom the succeeding month is associated; Bahá, the first month of the following year”.
Ayyám-i-Há has been translated into English as “Intercalary Days” which literally means that they are days inserted into the calendar. Unlike the majority of Baháʼí holy days that either celebrate joyous historical events or commemorate sorrowful dates of significance, Ayyám-i-Há is a festival of the attributes of generosity, love, compassion, of praising God and friendship. It stands in contrast to the Fast, a time of abstinence and inner contemplation and transformation.
Baháʼu’lláh has reduced rituals and ceremonies to a minimum in the Baháʼí Faith and so everyone celebrates Ayyám-i-Há differently. Many communities and families share meals together and some exchange gifts. Ayyám-i-Há celebrations can be elaborate and complex or they can be humble and simple. The beauty of these days is that little is required to make good cheer when you are in the company of friends and surrounded by an atmosphere of love. Here is a historical account by ‘Aqa Tahir, of how Baháʼu’lláh and some of the early believers celebrated Ayyám-i-Há:
On the first day of the Ayyám-i-Há (Intercalary Days) one of the pilgrims had invited Baháʼu’lláh and all the believers in Akká to lunch. I too went to Mazra’ih. Early in the morning a large tent was pitched in front of the entrance to the garden on a delightful open space. That morning all the believers, numbering almost two hundred, consisting of those who were living in the Holy Land and the pilgrims, came to Mazra’ih.
Around the time of noon, the Blessed Beauty came down from the Mansion and majestically entered the tent. All the believers were standing in front of the tent. Then the amanuensis of Bahá’u’lláh, who bestowed the title Khadimu’llah (Servant of God) Mírzá Áqá Ján, standing in the presence of Baháʼu’lláh chanted a dawn prayer for fasting which had been revealed on that day. When the prayer was finished the Blessed Beauty Baháʼu’lláh instructed all to be seated. Every person sat down in the place where he was standing. The Blessed Beauty spoke to us and after His utterances were ended He asked, ‘What happened to the Feast, is it really going to happen?’ Thereupon a few friends hurried away and soon lunch was brought in. They placed a low table in the middle of the tent. The Blessed Beauty and all the Aghsan (The male descendants of Baháʼu’lláh) sat around the table and since there was more room, He called some by name to join Him. Among these my name was called; He said, ‘Aqa Tahir, come and sit.’ So I went in and sat at the table in His presence.
At some point Baháʼu’lláh said, ‘We have become tired of eating. Those who have had enough may leave.’ I immediately arose and the Blessed Beauty left. At first the food which was left over on His plate was divided among the friends, and then group after group entered the tent and had their meal. Everyone at this feast partook of both physical and spiritual food.
Adib Taherzadeh, The Revelation of Baha’u’llah, vol. 4, p.8.
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.
Let us know the history regarding Ayyám-i-Há.
The Báb, the Prophet-Founder of the Bábí Faith (Fore-Runner of Baháʼu’lláh), instituted the Badíʻ calendar in the Persian Bayán 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, as under the Islamic calendar the practice of intercalation had been condemned in the Qurʼan.
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, His book of laws.
Baháʼu’lláh 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 Há”. Prior to 172 B.E. (2015 A.D.), Ayyám-i-Há was from sunset on February 25 to sunset on March 1.
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 — the five-pointed star, or haykal (Arabic: temple) is a symbol of the Baháʼí Faith as mentioned by Shoghi Effendi, head of the Baháʼí Faith in the first half of the 20th century: “Strictly speaking the 5-pointed star is the symbol of our Faith, as used by the Báb and explained by Him.” The five-pointed star has been used as the outline of special letters or tablets by both the Báb and Baháʼu’lláh.
The number 5 is also equal to the maximum number of days in Ayyám-i-Há in the Badíʻ calendar.
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, 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.
The people of Bahá should, during these days, prepare feasts for themselves, their relatives, and for the poor and needy, praising and glorifying the Lord with exultant joy, singing His praises, and exalting His Name. And when these days of giving, which precede the time of abstinence, draw to a close, then begin fasting. Thus has the Lord commanded all mankind.”
“We ordained that these days and nights should be the revelations of the letter Há; thus they are not limited by the year” is a quote from the Bahá’í Faith that describes the Ayyám-i-Há, or “Days of Ha”. The Ayyám-i-Há are intercalary days that are celebrated before the last month of the Bahá’í year.
The Ayyám-i-Há are festive days that are celebrated with hospitality, charity, service, and gift-giving.
The Ayyám-i-Há are devoted to spiritual preparation for the fast.
The Ayyám-i-Há are celebrated for four days, or five days in a leap year.
The Ayyám-i-Há are inserted into the calendar to maintain the Bahá’í solar calendar.
The letter “Ha” is considered the holy letter and bearer of the “essence of God”.
Compiled by
Jaya Raju Thota,
Greater Visakhapatnam,
Andhra Pradesh, India
