Bahá'í calendar

The Bahá'í calendar, also called the Badí‘ calendar, used by the Bahá'í Faith, is a solar calendar with regular years of 365 days, and leap years of 366 days. Years are composed of 19 months of 19 days each, (361 days) plus an extra period of "Intercalary Days" (4 in regular and 5 in leap years). Years in the calendar begin at the vernal equinox, and are counted with the date notation of BE (Bahá'í Era), with March 21, 1844 CE being the first day of the first year. The period from March 21, 2009 to March 20, 2010 is the year 166 BE. At present, the Bahá'í calendar is synchronized to the Gregorian calendar, meaning that the extra day of a leap year occurs simultaneously in both calendars.
==History==
The Bahá'í calendar started from the original Badí‘ calendar, created by the Báb. Bahá'u'lláh confirmed and adopted this calendar and made Naw-Rúz the first day of the year, and also clarified the intercalary days..
Bahá'u'lláh set Naw-Rúz to the day on which the sun passes into the constellation Aries. Bahá'ís interpret this formula as a specification of the vernal equinox.
Although the vernal equinox can occur on March 20, 21 or 22, Shoghi Effendi declared that, for the time being, the Badí‘ calendar is 'locked' to the Gregorian calendar with the new year always starting at sunset on 20 March. Without this, the calendar could vary by a day or two when compared to the Gregorian calendar. The implementation of the variable calendar with respect to the beginning of Naw-Rúz will require the Universal House of Justice selecting a single location for the fixing of the date of the equinox. This 'locked' calendar is the one described in this article. 
Years in the Bahá'í calendar are counted from Thursday, 21 March 1844, the beginning of the Bahá'í Era or Badí‘ Era (abbreviated BE or B.E.). Year 1 BE thus began at sundown 20 March 1844. Using the Bahá'í names for the weekday and month, day one of the Bahá'í Era was Istijlál (Majesty), 1 Bahá (Splendour) 1 BE. As detailed below, the names of the Bahá'í months and days reflect attributes of God.
For several early years after Tom Morey founded what would become Morey Watersports, the boogie boards his company produced were stamped with the B.E. year of production. This may have been the first "external" use of B.E. dates, and almost certainly the first on a commercial product.
==Months==
The Bahá'í calendar is composed of 19 months, each with 19 days. The Nineteen Day Fast is held during the final month of ‘Alá’ (2 March – 20 March), and is preceded by the intercalary days, known as Ayyám-i-Há. There are four intercalary days in a regular year, and five in a leap year. The introduction of intercalation marked an important break from Islam, as under the Islamic calendar the practice of intercalation had been specifically prohibited in the Qur'an. The month of fasting is followed by Naw-Rúz, the new year. Because the calendar is currently synchronized with the Gregorian calendar, the Bahá'í leap years happen on common era leap years. In addition, the intercalary days include 28 February and 1 March, causing precise synchronization of the 19 months with the Gregorian calendar.
The names of the months were taken by the Báb from the Du'ay-i-Sahar, a Ramadan dawn prayer by Imam Muhammad al-Baqir (the fifth Imam).Stephen N. Lambden. The Du'á Sahar or Supplication of Glory-Beauty (al-bahá')
Arabic Name	Arabic Script	English Translation	Gregorian Dates
Bahá 	بهاء 	Splendour 	21 March – 8 April
Jalál 	جلال 	Glory 	9 April – 27 April
Jamál 	جمال 	Beauty 	28 April – 16 May
‘Aẓamat 	عظمة 	Grandeur 	17 May – 4 June
Núr 	نور 	Light 	5 June – 23 June
Raḥmat 	رحمة 	Mercy 	24 June – 12 July
Kalimát 	كلمات 	Words 	13 July – 31 July
Kamál 	كمال 	Perfection 	1 August – 19 August
Asmá’ 	اسماء 	Names 	20 August – 7 September
‘Izzat 	عزة 	Might 	8 September – 26 September
Mashíyyat 	مشية 	Will 	27 September – 15 October
‘Ilm 	علم 	Knowledge 	16 October – 3 November
Qudrat 	قدرة 	Power 	4 November – 22 November
Qawl 	قول 	Speech 	23 November – 11 December
Masá’il 	مسائل 	Questions 	12 December – 30 December
Sharaf 	شرف 	Honour 	31 December – 18 January
Sulṭán 	سلطان 	Sovereignty 	19 January – 6 February
Mulk 	ملك 	Dominion 	7 February – 25 February
Ayyám-i-Há 	ايام الهاء 	The Days of Há 	26 February – 1 March
‘Alá’ 	علاء 	Loftiness 	2 March – 20 March (Month of fasting)
==Holy days==
There are eleven holy days in the Bahá'í calendar on nine of which work is suspended. The Festival of Ridván, a twelve-day festival that commemorates Bahá'u'lláh's announcement of prophethood, is the most holy Bahá'í festival and is referred to as the "Most Great Festival."
On the Islamic lunar calendar, the births of the Báb and Bahá'u'lláh fall on consecutive days; the first and second day of Muharram, respectively. The Universal House of Justice has decided to celebrate them on the solar calendar, but has the authority to change the observance to the lunar calendar days, which migrate through the solar calendar by 11 or 12 days each year.
Name 	Gregorian Dates	Work Suspended
Naw-Rúz (Bahá'í New Year) 	March 21 	Yes
First day of Riḍván (Arabic: رضوان)	April 21 	Yes
Ninth day of Riḍván 	April 29 	Yes
Twelfth day of Riḍván 	May 2 	Yes
Declaration of the Báb 	May 23 	Yes
Ascension of Bahá'u'lláh 	May 29 	Yes
Martyrdom of the Báb 	July 9 	Yes
Birth of the Báb 	October 20 	Yes
Birth of Bahá'u'lláh 	November 12 	Yes
Day of the Covenant 	November 26 	No
Ascension of `Abdu'l-Bahá 	November 28 	No
==Weekdays==
The Bahá'í week starts on Saturday, and ends on Friday. Days begin at sunset on the previous solar day and end at sunset of the present solar day. Like Islam, Friday is also the day of rest in the Bahá'í Faith. In 
Arabic Name	Arabic Script	English Translation	Day of the Week
Jalál 	جلال 	Glory 	Saturday
Jamál 	جمال 	Beauty 	Sunday
Kamál 	كمال 	Perfection 	Monday
Fiḍál 	فضال 	Grace 	Tuesday
‘Idál 	عدال 	Justice 	Wednesday
Istijlál 	استجلال 	Majesty 	Thursday
Istiqlál 	استقلال 	Independence 	Friday
==Váḥid and Kull-i-Shay’==
Also existing in the Bahá'í calendar system is a 19-year cycle called Váḥid and a 361-year (19x19) supercycle called Kull-i-Shay’ (literally, "All Things"). Each of the 19 years in a Vahid has been given a name as shown in the table below. The 9th Váḥid of the 1st Kull-i-Shay’ started on 21 March 1996, and the 10th Váḥid will begin in 2015. The current Bahá'í year, year 166 BE (21 March 2009 - 20 March 2010), is year Vahháb of the 9th Váḥid of the 1st Kull-i-Shay’. The 2nd Kull-i-Shay’ will begin in 2205. 
The concept of a 19-year cycle has existed in some form since the 4th century BC. The Metonic cycle represents an invented measure that approximately correlates solar and lunar markings of time and which appears in several calendar systems.
;Years in a Váḥid:
No.	Persian Name	Arabic Script	English Translation
1 	Alif 	ألف 	A
2 	Bá’ 	باء 	B
3 	Ab 	أب 	Father
4 	Dál 	دﺍﻝ 	D
5 	Báb 	باب 	Gate
6 	Váv 	وﺍو 	V
7 	Abad 	أبد 	Eternity
8 	Jád 	جاد 	Generosity
9 	Bahá' 	بهاء 	Splendour
10 	Ḥubb 	حب 	Love
11 	Bahháj 	بهاج 	Delightful
12 	Javáb 	جواب 	Answer
13 	Aḥad 	احد 	Single
14 	Vahháb 	وﻫﺎب 	Bountiful
15 	Vidád 	وداد 	Affection
16 	Badí‘ 	بديء 	Beginning
17 	Bahí 	بهي 	Luminous
18 	Abhá 	ابهى 	Most Luminous
19 	Váḥid 	واحد 	Unity
==See also==
* Calendar
* Bahá'í Faith
* Intercalation
* 19 (number)
==Notes==
==References==
* 
*
* 
==External links==
*The Bahá'í Calendar
*Arithmetic of the Bahá'í Calendar, and Variants
Category:Specific calendars
Category:Bahá'í practices
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