April 20th begins the Ridvan season for Baha'is

[Arthra]

The first, ninth and twelfth days of Ridvan are Holy Days for Baha'is. Ridvan means "Paradise" and refers to the Garden in Baghdad where Baha'u'llah and His followers prepared for a journey from Baghdad to Istanbul on the orders of the Ottoman Sultan in 1863. Baha'u'llah ("Glory of God") had been in exile from Persia after the followers of the Bab ("the Gate") were persecuted after 1853.

It was in the Garden of Ridvan in Baghdad that Baha'u'llah shared with His intimate followers that He was "Him Whom God would make manifest" promised by the Bab (Siyyid Ali Muhammad Shirazi).

Eventually Baha'u'llah and His followers were sent to the prison fortress of Akka near what is today the city of Haifa in northern Israel and it is on the slopes of Mount Carmel where the World Centre of the Baha'i Faith is established today.

For Baha'is the twelve days of Ridvan are a time when the communities elect their Local and National Spiritual Assemblies.

A Wikipedia has more information:

Ridván - Wikipedia

 

[MariaJLM]

Good to know. I nearly became Baha'i at one point.

 

[alsughasoughaiuyfygh]

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[MariaJLM]

April 20 to me is more Rastafarian if you know what I mean...

#420BlazeIt

 

[Tony Bristow-Stagg]

That the first day of Ridvan fell on Easter Sunday, the day Jesus the Christ gave His life for us all, is a very special day.

Regards Tony

 

[Arthra]

The Ridvan season is twelve days in length and a few days ago we elected a Local Spiritual Assembly in our community. It was the forty sixth Spiritual Assembly in our town since 1973! We have the three Holy Days during the Ridvan season... The First Day of Ridvan, the Ninth Day of Ridvan and the Twelfth Day of Ridvan. We'll be electing officers for the Assembly tomorrow evening.

There are no priests or ministers in the Baha'i Faith. Locally our Assembly has responsibility to schedule important events and provide for educational programs anyone can attend called the Ruhi Institute. Our National Spiritual Assembly was also elected during this time by delegates at our National Convention in Wil;mette Illinois.