The Baháʼí Communities worldwide are celebrating one of the most significant and joyous occasions in the Baháʼí calendar — the festival of Naw-Rúz. This festival, which marks the beginning of the Baháʼí New Year, takes place every year on or around the spring equinox, signifying both a spiritual and physical renewal. Rooted in the Baháʼí Faith’s teachings, Naw-Rúz celebrates the inherent unity of humankind and the arrival of new spiritual seasons.
“Naw-Rúz is the first day of the Baháʼí calendar year and one of eleven holy days for adherents of the Baháʼí Faith. It occurs on the vernal equinox, on or near March 21, which is also the traditional Persian New Year.”
The Báb, the Prophet-Founder of the Bábism, and then Baháʼu’lláh, the Prophet-Founder of the Baháʼí Faith, adopted the day as a holy day and associated it with the Most Great Name of God.
The Baháʼí holiday as now calculated does not always fall on the same day as the traditional festival (but may differ by one day), and does not incorporate a number of Persian cultural practices associated with the traditional holiday, but is a religious event featuring readings from Baháʼí scriptures.
For 2025, Naw-Rúz begins at sunset on Wednesday, March 19 and ends at sunset on Thursday, March 20.
Naw-Rúz is one of nine Baháʼí holy days where work and school must be suspended; the only one that is not associated with an event in the lives of either the Báb or Baháʼu’lláh. It is usually a festive event observed with meetings for prayer and music and dancing.
Since the new year also ends the Baháʼí month of fasting the celebration is often combined with a dinner.
As with all Baháʼí holy days, there are few fixed rules for observing Naw-Rúz, and Baháʼís all over the world celebrate it as a festive day, according to local custom.
Persian Baháʼís may observe some of the Iranian customs associated with Nowruz such as the Haft Sîn, while American Baháʼí communities, for example, may have a potluck dinner, along with prayers and readings from Baháʼí scripture.
Baháʼu’lláh, in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, defines Naw-Rúz as the day on which the vernal equinox occurs.
The exact timing of Naw-Rúz for Baháʼís worldwide depends on the choice of a particular spot on the Earth and was left to the Universal House of Justice, the governing body of the Baháʼís, to decide.
In 2014, the Universal House of Justice chose Tehran as the particular spot.
Since Baháʼí days start at sundown, if the equinox occurs just before sunset, the day which started on the previous sunset is Naw-Rúz. Thus Naw-Rúz could fall between March 20 th and March 21st of the Gregorian calendar. These dates are pre-calculated years in advance.
All dates in the Baháʼí calendar are set in relation to Naw-Rúz and thus may shift on the Gregorian calendar by a day or two depending on the timing of the vernal equinox.
The Báb, the founder of Bábi religion, instituted the Badíʻ calendar composed of 19 months, each of 19 days. The first month, and the first day of each month, are both named Bahá, an Arabic word meaning splendour or glory. Thus Naw-Rúz, the first day of the year, is the day of Bahá in the month of Bahá. The day was called the Day of God by the Báb, and was associated with He whom God shall make manifest, a messianic figure in the Báb’s writings.
The exact date of Naw-Rúz is determined by the vernal equinox, which can fall on March 20 or 21 until 1 Bahá 221 B.E. (Bahái Era) i.e. 20 March 2064 A.D.as per the the newly implemented Baháʼí Calendar.
The current Baháʼí year, year 181 BE (20 March 2024 – 20 March 2025), is the year Ḥubb of the tenth Váḥid of the first Kull-i-S͟hayʼ. The second Kull-i-S͟hayʼ will begin in 2205. The concept of a nineteen-year cycle has existed in some form since the fourth century BCE.
Years on the calendar are annotated with the date notation of BE (Baháʼí Era). The Baháʼí year 182 BE will start on 20 March 2025.
Baháʼu’lláh, who is recognized as the Messianic Figure expected by the Báb, adopted the new calendar and the use of Naw-Rúz as a holy day.
The day follows the Baháʼí month of fasting, and he explained that Naw-Rúz was associated with the Most Great Name of God, and was instituted as a festival for those who observed the fast.
The symbolic notion of the renewal of time in each religious dispensation was made explicit by the writings of the Báb and Baháʼu’lláh and the calendar and the new year made this spiritual metaphor more concrete.
ʻAbdu’l-Bahá, Baháʼu’lláh’s son and successor, explained that significance of Naw-Rúz in terms of spring and the new life it brings. He explained that the equinox is a symbol of the Manifestations of God, who include Jesus,
Muhammad, the Báb and Baháʼu’lláh among others, and the message that they proclaim is like a spiritual springtime, and that Naw-Rúz is used to commemorate it.
I quote the following few Holy Writings of the Baháʼí Faith on the auspicious and happy occasion of the festival of Naw Rúz (Bahá’í New Year):
“…just as the solar cycle has its four seasons, the cycle of the Sun of Reality has its distinct and successive periods. Each brings its vernal season or springtime. When the Sun of Reality returns to quicken the world of mankind a divine bounty descends from the heaven of generosity. The realm of thoughts and ideals is set in motion and blessed with new life. Minds are developed, hopes brighten, aspirations become spiritual, the virtues of the human world appear with freshened power of growth and the image and likeness of God become visible in man. It is the springtime of the inner world…”
“In it the former springtime has returned, the world is resuscitated, illumined and attains spirituality; religion is renewed and reorganized, hearts are turned to God, the summons of God is heard and life is again bestowed upon man.”
(ʻAbdu’l-Bahá, Foundations of World Unity, p. 12.)
“O people of the world! We have enjoined upon you fasting during a brief period, and at its close have designated for you Naw-Ruz as a feast.
(The Kitab-i-Aqdas, Bahá’u’lláh, pages 24-25)
“Happy the one who entereth upon the first day of the month of Bahá, the day which God hath consecrated to this Great Name. And blessed be he who evidenceth on this day the bounties that God hath bestowed upon him; he, verily, is of those who show forth thanks to God through actions betokening the Lord’s munificence which hath encompassed all the worlds. Say: This day, verily, is the crown of all the months and the source thereof, the day on which the breath of life is wafted over all created things. Great is the blessedness of him who greeteth it with radiance and joy. We testify that he is, in truth, among those who are blissful.”
(Bahá’u’lláh, The Kitáb-i-Aqdas, p. 59).
“Praised be Thou, O my God, that Thou hast ordained Naw-Ruz as a festival unto those who have observed the fast for love of Thee and abstained from all that is abhorrent unto Thee….”
(Prayers and Meditations, Bahá’u’lláh, pages 67-69).
O people of the world! We have enjoined upon you fasting during a brief period, and at its close have designated for you Naw-Ruz as a feast.
(The Kitáb-i-Aqdas,,
Bahá’u’lláh’, pages 24-25)
“This sacred day, when the sun illumines equally the whole earth, is called the equinox, and the equinox is the symbol of the Manifestation of God. The Sun of Truth rises on the horizon of Divine Mercy and sends forth its rays. This day is consecrated to commemorate it. It is the beginning of Spring.”
“When the sun appears at the equinox, it causes a movement in all living things. The mineral world is set in motion, plants begin to shoot, the desert is changed into a prairie, trees bud and every living thing responds, including the bodies of animals and men.”
“The rising of the sun at the equinox is the symbol of life, and likewise it is the symbol of the Divine Manifestations of God, for the rising of the Sun of Truth in the Heaven of Divine Bounty established the signal of Life for the world. The human reality begins to live, our thoughts are transformed and our intelligence is quickened. The Sun of Truth bestows Eternal Life, just as the solar sun is the cause of terrestrial life.”
(ʻAbdu’l-Bahá, Star of the West, Vol. 5, p. 4)
“If we are not happy and joyous at this season, for what other season shall we wait and for what other time shall we look? This is the time for growing; the season for joyous gathering! Take the cup of the Testament in thy hand; leap and dance with ecstasy in the triumphal procession of the Covenant! Lay your confidence in the everlasting bounty, turn to the presence of the generous God … turn thy vision to the horizon of eternal wealth; and pray for help from the Source of Mercy! … Soon the whole world, as in springtime, will change its garb. The turning and falling of the autumn leaves is past; the bleakness of the winter time is over. The new year hath appeared and the spiritual springtime is at hand. The black earth is becoming a verdant garden; the deserts and mountains are teeming with red flowers; from the borders of the wilderness the tall grasses are standing like advance guards before the cypress and jessamine trees; while the birds are singing among the rose branches like the angels in the highest heavens, announcing the glad-tidings of the approach of that spiritual spring, and the sweet music of their voices is causing the real essence of all things to move and quiver.
(ʻAbdu’l-Bahá: Bahá’í World Faith, pages 351-352)
The nine major Bahá’í holy days, on which work is suspended, include
1. Naw-Rúz (New Year),
2. The First Day of Ridván.
3. The Ninth Day of Ridván.
4. The Twelfth Day of Ridván.
5. The Declaration of the Báb.
6. The Ascension of Bahá’u’lláh.
7. The Martyrdom of the Báb.
8. The Birthday of the Báb.
9. The Birthday of Bahá’u’lláh.
10. Day of the Covenant: Commemorates Bahá’u’lláh’s appointment of His eldest son, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, as the Center of His Covenant.
11. Ascension of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.: Commemorates the Ascension of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.
On the above mentioned (10 &11) Bahá’í holy days, on which work is NOT suspended.
Naw-Rúz is much more than the beginning of a new year for Baha’is; it is a spiritually uplifting occasion that draws individuals together, calling them to reflect on the essential oneness of humanity, celebrate the renewal of life, and reaffirm their commitment to contributing to the betterment of the world. Through the words of Baháʼu’lláh, ‘ʻAbdu’l-Bahá, Shoghi Effendi, and the Universal House of Justice, Bahá’ís are reminded of the deep spiritual significance of this festival, one that celebrates not only the turning of the seasons but the ever-present potential for personal and collective transformation.
As we celebrate Naw-Rúz in 2025, let us all join in the spirit of renewal, unity, and hope that the festival inspires, and work together to bring about a world marked by peace, justice, and love for all.
Happy Naw-Rúz.
Compiled by:-
Jaya Raju Thota,
Greater Visakhapatnam,
Andhra Pradesh, India
