February, 2023

The Nineteen-Day Fast is a nineteen-day period of the year during which members of the Baháʼí Faith adhere to a sunrise-to-sunset fast. Along with obligatory prayer, it is one of the greatest obligations of a Baháʼí, and its chief purpose is spiritual: to reinvigorate the soul and bring the person closer to God. The fast was instituted by the Báb, and accepted by Baháʼu’lláh, the founder of the Baháʼí Faith, who stated its rules in his book of laws, the Kitáb-i-Aqdas. The nineteen days of fasting occur immediately before the beginning of the Baháʼí New Year, on the vernal equinox (19–21 March, depending on the year). Source: Wikipedia

Ayyám-i-Há is a period of intercalary days in the Baháʼí calendar, when Baháʼís celebrate the Festival of Ayyám-i-Há. The four or five days of this period are inserted between the last two months of the calendar (Mulk and ʻAláʼ). The length of Ayyám-i-Há varies according to the timing of the following vernal equinox so that the next year always starts on the vernal equinox.

2023 has four days of Ayyám-i-Há: from sunset on Saturday, February 25, to sunset on Wednesday, March 1.

During the Festival of Ayyám-i-Há Baháʼís are encouraged to celebrate God and his oneness by showing love, fellowship and unity. In many instances Baháʼís give and accept gifts to demonstrate these attributes, and because of this gift giving period, it is sometimes compared to Christmas, but many Baha’is only exchange small gifts because gifts are not the main focus. It is also a time of charity and goodwill and Baháʼís often participate in various projects of a humanitarian nature. 

(Wikipedia)