The Festival of Ridván

Contributed by Andra Baylus, The Meher Baba Spiritual Community

Ridván is a twelve-day festival celebrated by the Baha’i Faith to commemorate the period in 1863 when Bahá’u’lláh, the religion’s founder, publicly declared his mission as a Messenger of God.

• The Great Festival: It is considered the holiest period in the Baha’i calendar.
• The Garden of Ridván: The event took place in a beautiful rose garden on the banks of the Tigris River in Baghdad, which Bahá’u’lláh named Ridván (meaning “paradise”).
• Spiritual Transformation: It marks the transition from a period of exile and sorrow to one of hope and the official birth of the Baha’i Faith.
• Origin: It represents a victory for the Bahá’í community, turning exile into a time of joy, spiritual renewal, and the public declaration of the faith. 

Observance

The festival begins on April 21st and concludes on May 2nd. During this special 12 day period, the community gathers for prayers, celebrations, and the annual election of Baha’i local and national governing councils. Three specific days—the first, ninth, and twelfth—are the most significant and are observed as holy days where work and school are suspended. The 1st day is considered ”Declaration” ~ when Bahá’u’lláh publicly declared his mission as a Messenger of God.  The 9th day is focused on, “Family Reunion” ~ when family and friends came to visit Bahá’u’lláh to say goodbye before he was exiled and the 12th day is termed, “ The Departure” ~ the day Bahá’u’lláh finally left for Constantinople (now called Istanbul). 

Over the years, Bahá’u’lláh was exiled in many locations and finally established the Baháʼí World Centre in Haifa and Akka, Israel. Today, the Bahai community is spread across virtually every country and territory in the world.

This blog post is the expressed opinion of its writer and does not necessarily reflect the views of Tysons Interfaith or its members.