138 All Feasts Have Attained Their Consummation In The Two Most Great
Festivals
and in the two other Festivals that fall on the twin days 110
This passage establishes four great festivals of the Baha'i year. The two
designated by Baha'u'llah as the two Most Great Festivals are, first,
the Festival of Ridvan, which commemorates Baha'u'llah's Declaration of
His Prophetic Mission in the Garden of Ridvan in Baghdad during twelve
days in April/May 1863 and is referred to by Him as the King of
Festivals and, second, the Bab's Declaration, which occurred in May 1844
in Shiraz. The first, ninth and twelfth days of the Festival of Ridvan
are Holy Days (Q and A 1), as is the day of the Declaration of the Bab.
The two other Festivals are the anniversaries of the births of
Baha'u'llah and the Bab. In the Muslim lunar calendar these fall on
consecutive days, the birth of Baha'u'llah on the second day of the month
of Muharram 1233 A.H. (12 November 1817), and the birth of the Bab on the
first day of the same month 1235 A.H. (20 October 1819), respectively.
They are thus referred to as the Twin Birthdays and Baha'u'llah states
that these two days are accounted as one in the sight of God (Q and A 2).
He states that, should they fall within the month of fasting, the command
to fast shall not apply on those days (Q and A 36). Given that the Baha'i
calendar (see notes 26 and 147) is a solar calendar, it remains for the
Universal House of Justice to determine whether the Twin Holy Birthdays
are to be celebrated on a solar or lunar basis.
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137 The Most Great Name #109
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