Changes to the Bahai calendar

[Sen McGlinn]

On July 10, 2014, the Universal House of Justice announced three decisions regarding the Badi` (Bahai) calendar, which will affect the dates of Feasts and Holy Days. Naw Ruz will usually fall on March 20th, which means that all the Feast days will be one day earlier, and the births of the Bab and of Baha'u'llah will be celebrated on two consecutive days in the Autumn. The changes take effect from the next Bahai New Year, from sunset on March 20, 2015.​

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The definitive tables showing the new dates have not yet been released, but there is a preliminary discussion here :​

Changes in the Bahai calendar: what, how and especially, why?                   Sen McGlinn's blog.​

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The letter in which the Universal House of Justice announced the changes is online here :​

Decisions affecting the implementation of the Badi` calendar as of Ridvan 2015                   Sen McGlinn's blog​

 

[arthra]

As noted above the House of Justice issued a communication on July 10th regarding the calendar and a portion of that Letter read as follows:

"...of the Holy Days within the Badi' calendar.
"The Festival of Naw-Ruz falleth on the day that the sun entereth the sign of Aries," Baha'u'llah explains in His Most Holy Book, "even should this occur no more than one minute before sunset."

However, details have, until now, been left undefined. We have decided that
Tihran, the birthplace of the Abha Beauty, will be the spot on the earth that will serve as the standard for determining, by means of astronomical computations from reliable sources, the moment of the vernal equinox in the northern hemisphere and thereby the day of Naw-Ruz
for the Baha'i world.

The Festivals of the Twin Birthdays, the Birth of the Bab and the Birth ofBaha'u'llah, have, in the East, been traditionally observed according to their correspondence to the first and second days of Muharram in the Islamic calendar. "These two days are accounted as one in the
sight of God", Baha'u'llah affirms. Yet, a letter written on behalf of the Guardian states, "In the future, no doubt all of the Holy Days will follow the Solar calendar, and provisions be made as to how the Twin Festivals will be celebrated universally."

How to satisfy the intrinsic lunar character of these blessed Days within the context of a solar calendar has hitherto been unanswered. We have decided that they will now be observed on the first and the second day
following the occurrence of the eighth new moon after Naw-Ruz, as determined in advance by ...

Baha'i World Centre • P.O. Box 155 • 3100101 Haifa, Israel
Tel: 972 (4) 835 8358 • Fax: 972 (4) 835 8280 • Email: secretariat@bwc.org

The calendar for next year 2015 is already released and one can order the calendar.

http://www.bahairesources.com/2011-2012-american-bahai-wall-calendar.html