Ayyám-i-Há

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Ayyám-i-Há refers to a period of four or five intercalary days in the Bahá'í calendar, where Bahá'ís celebrate the Festival of Ayyám-i-Há.<ref name="bne">Esslemont, J.E. (1980). Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era, 5th ed., Wilmette, Illinois, USA: Bahá'í Publishing Trust, pp.178-179. ISBN 0877431604.</ref> The four or five days occur in between the 18th and 19th months of the calendar from February 26 to March 1 and allow for the Bahá'í calendar to be synchronized with the solar year with regular years of 365 days, and leap years of 366 days.<ref>According to the definition of intercalary days in the Oxford Companion to the Year four of the five days are "epagomenal days" which are added to make the number of a calendar's days equal to the number of days in a year, and only the fifth day of Ayyám-i-Há is an intercalary day.</ref>

[edit] History

The Báb, the founder of the Bábí Faith, instituted the Badi calender in the Persian Bayán with 19 months of 19 days with a period of intercalary days to allow for the calendar to be solar.<ref name="taylor">Taylor, John (2000-09-01). On Novelty in Ayyám-i-Há and the Badí Calendar. bahai-library.org. Retrieved on 2006-09-24.</ref> He did not, however, specify where the intercalary days should go.<ref name="taylor" /> Bahá'u'lláh, who claimed to be the one foretold by the Báb, confirmed and adopted the Badi calendar in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, his book of laws.<ref name="taylor" /> He placed the intercalary days before the fasting month of `Alá, the nineteenth and last month,<ref name="ka">Bahá'u'lláh [1873] (1992). The Kitáb-i-Aqdas: The Most Holy Book. Wilmette, Illinois, USA: Bahá'í Publishing Trust, pp. 24-25. ISBN 0853989990.</ref> and gave the intercalary days the name "Ayyám-i-Há" or "Days of Há".<ref name="taylor" /><ref name="ka" />

[edit] Symbolism and celebration

The nineteen months of the Bahá'í calendar are named after the attributes of God.<ref name="bahai-us">National Spiritual Assembly of the United States (2006-03-05). The Bahá'í Calendar. bahai.us. Retrieved on 2006-09-24.</ref> Ayyám-i-Há, which means the "Days of Há", commemorates the transcendance of God over his attributes since its name "Ha" has been used a symbol of the essence of God in the Bahá'í holy writings.<ref name="taylor" /><ref name="ka2">Universal House of Justice (1992). Notes of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas. Wilmette, Illinois, USA: Bahá'í Publishing Trust, pp. 178. ISBN 0853989990..</ref>

During the Festival of Ayyám-i-Há Bahá'ís are encouraged to celebrate God and his oneness by showing love, fellowship and unity.<ref name="taylor" /> In many instances Bahá'ís give and accept gifts to show forth the love, and it is sometimes seen as a "Bahá'í Christmas" held two months late.<ref name="taylor" />