Bahá’ís around the world celebrate ‘Twin Holy Days’ |18 November 2015

Last Friday and Saturday the Bahá’í community for the first time on a global scale celebrated the ‘Twin Holy Days’ associated with the birthdays of the two founders of their religion – The Bab and Baha’u’llah. Previously these Holy Days were celebrated according to the Gregorian calendar which as a solar calendar had their birthdays several weeks apart. With the implementation of the new calendar system as of this year by the Universal House of Justice, these Holy Days will now be observed according to the lunar calendar.

In Seychelles, the Twin Anniversaries were celebrated as follows: the birthday of the Bab was celebrated by 13 local Spiritual Assemblies that organised the programme for their respective communities on November 12 in the evening.

On November 13, the Bahá’í friends and invited guests held a national celebration for the birthday of Baha’u’llah at the National Baha’i Centre.

“Having the celebration on successive days is symbolically significant, as the missions of the Bab and Baha'u'llah are tightly interwoven in many ways. Born in 1819, The Bab, which means Gate, came to prepare the arrival of Baha’u’llah. The Bab’s mission was for a period of six years and according to Bahá’í beliefs, the Bab closed an époque and opened a new era. After six years of torture and imprisonment, he was later executed in 1850 by the Persian government at the young age of 30.

Baha’u’llah is a descendant of prophet Abraham and His mission is mainly to unite the people of the earth. His Dispensation will last for at least 1,000 years and he promised that peace will be established on earth during that period. He brought many social and spiritual teachings and laws for the betterment of the society,” explained Marion Gendron from the external affairs office of the National Spiritual Assembly of Seychelles.

As advised by the Universal House of Justice, “The friends should regard the Twin Festivals as a sacred moment to gather and strengthen the devotional and social life of the community and as a priceless opportunity to reach out to friends, family, and the wider society and share with them the significance of the lives and missions of these two most precious Beings.”

The followers of Baha’u’llah and friends came together to show their love for the founder of their Faith through prayers, songs and readings in three different languages.