The Baha’i year consists of 19 months of 19 days each (361 days), with the addition of “Intercalary Days” (four in ordinary and five in leap years) between the eighteenth and nineteenth months to adjust the calendar to the solar year. The months are named after the attributes of God.
The Baha’i New Year coincides with the March equinox (March 21). The Baha’i Era commenced with the year of the Bab’s declaration (1844 A.D.). Each Baha’i community holds a Nineteen Day Feast on the first day of each Baha’i month. The Feast has spiritual, administrative and social functions and is the principal gathering of Baha’is of a particular locality. Because the Baha’i day lasts from sunset to sunset, the Nineteen Day Feast is generally held in the evening on the day before the first day of the Baha’i month according to the Gregorian calendar.
The Baha’i Faith has two Founders – the Bab and Baha’u’llah — whose missions complement each other, whose majestic Shrines now stand in the twin cities of Haifa and Akka in northern Israel, and whose birthdays according to the Islamic lunar calendar fell on consecutive days, but according to the Gregorian calendar were celebrated on October 20 and November 12, respectively. With the implementation of the Badi calendar, these days will now be celebrated as twin holy days, one falling immediately after the other.
